


The Clockwork Castle

by TimeLadyoftheSith



Category: Doctor Who
Genre: Abuse, Angst, F/M, Fic request from the lovely MrsBertucci, Hope it meets her standards, Human AU, Indentured Servitude, Smut, Somewhat Steampunk AU, Unexpected rescue, more tags to come
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-07
Updated: 2018-10-26
Packaged: 2019-07-07 22:24:00
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 24
Words: 77,272
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15917478
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TimeLadyoftheSith/pseuds/TimeLadyoftheSith
Summary: Rose Tyler has been an indentured servant to Lady Cassandra O’brien for twelve years, working to pay off half of her father’s debts. When her fellow servants, Mickey and Bill, make an escape, they drag her along. The escape is cut short, as they are split up in the forest, and Rose comes face to face with a metal monster. Will it kill her, or will it drag her off to become an experiment for the insane Doctor?





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [mrsbertucci](https://archiveofourown.org/users/mrsbertucci/gifts).



“ _ You’ve had six months, Pete!” The man with no hair kicked the door her dad was trying to close. “Times up!” Her father stumbled back, and her mum shrieked as she clutched her tight. “Let’s go!”  _ _   
_ _   
_ _ “Don’t take them! They didn’t have anything to do with this!” Her father spread his arms wide, trying to shield her and her mother. “It’s not right!”  _ _   
_ _   
_ _ “Your house is falling apart and your shop is empty!” The man snarled, as two more came in and began trashing the tiny kitchen. “They won’t cover seventy pounds much less the five hundred you owe!” She didn’t understand what the men were talking about, what they had been reading when they’d showed up just after dawn. What were taxes and mortgages? Her mum was crying. “Now get in the wagon, the lot of you.”  _ _   
_ _   
_ _ “I won’t let you take them!” Her father launched himself at the bald man. “Jackie! Rose! Run!” She tried, but a man with black hair and a sword blocked her and her mum’s path.  _ _   
_ _   
_ _ “You dare attack me!” The bald man roared. “I am a representative of the crown! That is punishable by death!” Her father was thrown to the ground in front of her, his head smashing in the leg of the table.  _ _   
_ _   
_ _ “Pete! No! Don’t kill him!” Her mum was screaming now, trying to push her behind her. “Not here! Please! We’ll go. Just don’t kill him!” She didn’t understand, and all the screaming was scaring her. The men with swords were scaring her. Her mum crying was scaring her. The bald man brought his sword up. “Not in front of Rose!” _ _   
_ _   
_ _ “Your husband should have thought of that.” The man with black hair grabbed her by her hair, and her mum was screaming, trying to cover her eyes. Her daddy was pushing himself up to kneel. Blood poured from the cut on his temple. “Before he attacked me!” The sword came down, and she was screaming now. Her daddy’s head slid forward, and blood gushed out, covering her tattered dress.  _ _   
_ _   
_ _ “Daddy!” She tried to scramble forward, but her mum was shrieking and cling to her. “Daddy!” She didn’t understand what had happened. Why had they killed him? Her dad was a good man. Everybody loved him.  _ _   
_ _   
_ _ “Guess that means the debt will be worked off between you two.” The bald man sneered. “Take the girl to the O’brien’s to cover the house and shop they mortgaged. The wife will work off the taxes.”  _ _   
_ _   
_ _ Suddenly the black haired man was yanking her arms. Pulling her away from her mum. “Mummy!” She screamed, kicking, fighting, and struggling as hard as her six year old body could. “Let me go! Mum! Help me!” The man hoisted her up over his shoulder.  _ _   
_ _   
_ _ “No! Don’t take her! Rose is just a girl! It isn’t her fault!” Her mum was pleading. She could barely hear her over the sound of her own screams, of her tiny fists pounding into the man’s back. All their neighbors were watching, but nobody would help. “ROSE!” _ _   
_ _   
_ _ “Mummy! Don’t let them take me!” Rose couldn’t see for her tears. “They killed my daddy! Someone help us!” Nobody helped. Nobody did more than stand by and stare. “Mummy!” She was thrown up into a small, barred wagon as her mum was being dragged away, kicking and screaming. Then she disappeared into the wooden prison cart.  _ _   
_ _   
_ _ “Shut up!” The black haired man back handed her as she screamed, sending her sprawling onto the filthy hay and straw. The heavy metal door slammed shut.  _ __   
  
“Mum!” Rose gasped as she shot up in bed. Even after twelve years, the dream snuck up on her sometimes. She clutched her thin blanket, shivering in the early morning chill.    
  
“Just me.” Mickey, the head yard servant a dumped the armful of wood to the floor as he closed it. Rose blinked at him from the dim light of small servant shack. “Sorry to disappoint you, Rose.” He rubbed his bare hands together.    
  
“Hmm.” Rose tried to ease her racing heart, as she rubbed her eyes. Bill Potts, the other indentured servant pushed herself up with a groan. If Mickey was here, that meant it was almost sunrise. She shivered, as she stumbled to her feet while Mickey tossed a log onto the nearly dead small fire in the tiny stove. “Thanks.” It wouldn’t do much to warm the small room, but it would heat up the small pots of water and their left over broth to wash their faces and fill their bellies.    
  
“Get out so we can get dressed, Mickey.” Bill sighed, waving a hand at the man. Rose was wincing as she limped to the stove and splash her face. The cold water shocked her enough to become fully aware of her surroundings.    
  
“Sunset.” Mickey said firmly behind her, as he pulled the door open. “Don’t forget.” Rose didn’t know what was so important about sunset, but it didn’t matter. Sunset just meant she could leave the house and come back here. Sunset meant one day closer to her debt being paid, so long as she didn’t do something to add onto it.    
  
“I won’t!” Bill called, as the door shut. “How’s your back?” Her friend came up behind her as Rose stirred the pot. “I’m gonna look.” It was pointless to object, because she would ask all day of she didn’t. Cold fingers undid the buttons along her spine, and Rose shivered as the air hit the exposed skin. “Blimey, how did you not break any ribs?”    
  
“Five steps.” Rose shook her head, as she recalled how Lady Reinette had shoved her after she accidentally splashed the bucket of mop water on her dress. The fall had only been five steps, and the bucket had broken most of her landing. “Hurts, but I can manage.”   
  
“Five words, I’m flattered.” Bill always smiled, even with everything in their lives. Then again, she was new. She’d only been here six months, and she hadn’t worked anywhere but the kitchens. It wasn’t that Rose didn’t know how to talk. She had just learned a long time ago, twelve years ago, that nobody in this house cared what she had to say. She’d also learned that saying too much could mean being disciplined.    
  
“I’ll change. You wash.” Rose turned away from the warmth of the stove to grab one of her three dresses, the cleanest, and changed as quickly as possible. She stared down at the aged and wrinkled bit of paper in her drawer. It was her counting, her only way of tracking the reality of her life. Two-hundred and fifty pounds is where she started. That was the value of her labor. By the time she had turned nine, it had gone up to two-hundred and ninety.    
  
Every time she broke something, messed something up, or hurt herself bad enough to need a healer, Lady Cassandra added the cost to her debt. Now she was eighteen, far less clumsy, and far more wise. Seventy eight and a half pounds is all she had left to work off. Then she would be free. Rose tugged her dress on and sat to pull on her shoes. Then she shuffled to the stove and quickly downed the tasteless food. She wouldn’t eat again until noon.    
  
Just because Rose chose not to talk, it didn’t mean she didn’t think, and she thought a lot. She thought about cutting Reinette’s blonde hair as short as her own just before she shook her awake. That would surely be a death sentence. She thought about tightening her corset so much she’d faint when she greeted Prince Rory, who had apparently arrived some time in the night. Yet if Reinette hurt herself when she fell, that would probably add another fifteen pounds to her debt. She thought about a lot of petty things she wished she could do, but all of them would cost her time, and time was the only thing she had that was hers, that and her words.    
  
So Rose didn’t do those things. She helped Reinette dress, cleaned her washroom, emptied the chamber pots, made the bed, cleaned the hearth, and stocked it with wood. When that was finished, Rose had to take the books from Reinette’s room that were in the finished pile to the small library. That was the only thing Rose was truly jealous of. She didn’t care about the fancy dresses, the luxurious meals, or even the massive, warm bed. Rose longed to read. Her father had read to her, had been teaching her to read, before she was taken, before he died. Now Rose was only allowed to read simple things like lists of chores, recipes in the cookbooks, and the rare shopping list when she was sent to town.    
  
“Peasants and servants don’t need to read.” Lady Cassandra had told her twelve years ago when she caught Rose in the library. “They need to do their jobs, and nothing more!” Then she had slammed the book on Rose’s fingers so hard, so many times, that her left hands swelled and wouldn’t work right for a week. So now she simply carried the books to the library, put them in the empty slots, and left the room.    
  
Rose used to think about running away, about escaping, but Shareen tried it four years ago. They’d shot her in the back, just before she entered the forest. Then again, Shareen had just been a slave. Slaves were expendable. Rose wouldn’t be shot. She’d be beaten and whipped, then have to work off the cost of tending her wounds. Even if she did run, the iron band on her wrist would expose her as what she was. She had no money, no education, no way to survive until she was free of her debt. Her freedom would come in four years, so long as she worked hard and didn’t accrue any more additions.    
  
So Rose grabbed the broom, mop, and the bucket of mop water to head into the parlor. She pressed her sore back into the door, pushing it open. It slipped open too quickly, and she stumbled. Water sloshed all over her, and two firm hands gripped her waist as the broom and mop crashed to the floor. “Watch out.” A kind male voice chuckled as the hands righted her.    
  
Rose jerked away, turning to look up in shock. It was Prince Rory, and she dropped into a low curtsy, which only made her bucket slosh more, and water soaked his boots. “My fault, Your Highness.” She mumbled, bracing for a blow.    
  
“It was mine. I shouldn’t have pulled the door open so quickly.” The prince touched her hair gently, and Rose stood. Reinette was glowering from beside the fire where she was obviously having mid morning tea with the prince. “Here, let me help.” Before he could bend to pick up the broom and mop, Rose had already crouched to get them. Their heads collided with a crack.    
  
“Sorry! Sorry!” Rose felt panic flood her as the pain sent stars into her eyes. The prince went to his knees, and blood trickled from his nostrils. Reinette was on her feet, and Rose knew she was in so much trouble.    
  
“Your Highness!” Reinette called out, as Prince Rory pinched his nose. “Please forgive us. Rose can be a bit clumsy. She’s simple minded!” She helped Rory to his feet, while giving Rose an absolutely lethal look. This would cost her so much, and not just in debt. “Are you okay?”    
  
“Just a busted nose, my Lady. I’ve had worse.” He waved Reinette off, and extended a free hand to Rose. “What about you, Miss Rose? I didn’t hurt you did I?” Why did he care? Nobles were all the same, cruel, abusive, and all about money.    
  
“No. Head fine.” She knew what was coming. “Will clean mess. My apologies.” She shook her head, though her skull still ached from the accident. Then she began mopping up the water. She didn’t look at them as Reinette escorted the Prince out.    
  
She’d managed to get the water up and sweep half the room before Lady Cassandra stormed in. Rose knew better than to cry out, even as the broom handle collided with her legs and arms. She gritted her teeth hard, and her tongue bled as they slipped and caught the sides. Then she was banished to the kitchen and told she would be responsible for the cost of Reinette’s best kerchief and the Prince’s blood stained shirt.   
  
“Lady Cassandra says switch.” Rose mumbled to Bill who was plucking a chicken. Her arms and legs ached terribly, but she shouldered Bill away and took the chicken. Bill growled, as she saw how Rose winced when she moved. “Go now, before you get in trouble.” The length of her statement must have been enough, because Bill took off her apron and washed her hands. Then Rose was alone.    
  
Rose hoped Bill was doing a better job at cleaning than she had managed. She didn’t want her to get beaten or have her debt increased either. Bill only had two years worth of debt to work off, and that wasn’t bad considering how long her own was. So she worked through the pain, as she had become accustomed to doing, and finished prepping the dinner.    
  
At noon, Bill rejoined her for their meager lunch, babbling on about how Prince Rory’s nose wasn’t broken, and how she’d over heard him talking to one of the men who had accompanied them about how malnourished Rose and Mickey looked. She didn’t know what malnourished meant, but it didn’t matter. Nobles didn’t care about the affairs of slaves and indentured servants, except that they did their jobs. Rose just nodded and gave small smiles when Bill laughed. She liked Bill, because nothing brought her cheerful attitude down.    
  
After lunch, Bill went back to cleaning and Rose started on the chicken, beef, vegetables, and cakes for dinner. When they were finished, she carried them to the formal dining room to set up the table. Then she disappeared into the kitchen to eat her own, the scraps that hadn’t been presentable for the feast. Mickey joined her, but he wasn’t talking. He looked like he was thinking, and thinking hard. Bill would be serving dinner, and would also wash the dishes afterwards. Rose carried the scraps from lunch out to the hogs, and then she retreated to hers and Bill’s small shack to add her new debts to the list and put cold water on her bruises.    
  
It was almost sunset when she had the fire in the tiny stove going again, and snow began drifting down. She watched it through the small window, as the sun sank behind the forested Rift Mountains that framed the back of the O’Brien estate and divided the Powell Territory from the Arcadia Territory and the estate of the Doctor. Well, his name wasn’t really the Doctor.    
  
His name was Lord John Smith, and his lands were nothing but forests and mountains. He had no subjects, no banner men, just the secluded estate and solitude. According to the rumors in town, he was insane, experimented on people, robbed graves, and killed anyone he caught leaving the main road and wandering in his land. Rose had brushed those things off as rumors to frighten children from wandering into the forest, but then she’d heard Jack Harkness, Captain of the Royal Guard in the village say that it was true. That he had seen it himself. Captain Harkness wasn’t a liar, and he was the only person who wasn’t a servant that had treated her with any kindness in years.    
  
That conversation had been nine years ago, when the Doctor took up residence and claimed the abandoned lands and small castle. The rumor was he only left once a year, to journey to the Capitol, to Leadworth Castle, where he presented the results of his experiments to the King and the Queen. Rose didn’t particularly care, since she had no intention of ever stepping foot anywhere except on the road to find her mum, if her mum was alive. She hoped she was alive, that they could be together again.    
  
Rose must have dozed off, because she was being shaken awake by Bill, who was sporting a busted lip and cut cheek. She was dressed in a heavy coat, and threw one at Rose. Then she opened a small knapsack and began digging out Rose’s other two meager outfits, her two pairs of undergarments, and her tattered winter socks. “What are you doing?” Rose saw she had another sack on her own back, and that sunset was almost gone.    
  
“Put that coat on now! Hurry, or we’ll be in trouble.” Bill hissed, grabbing Rose’s arm and shoving it into the coat. She didn’t need anymore trouble, so Rose yanked the other sleeve in. These were the coachmen’s winter jackets. How did Bill get them. “Now this!” She held out the knapsack, and Rose wondered if maybe the Prince had bought their indenture. It happened sometimes. How much worse would he be.    
  
Rose followed Bill out into the now dark night. The moon was obscured by the snow clouds, and it barely lit their paths. “Come on!” Mickey hissed, and Rose saw he was dressed warmly too, holding a bag and a full oil lantern. He snagged Rose’s hand, and suddenly they were running.    
  
It took her a moment, in the flurry of snow and confusion, for Rose to realize they weren’t heading to the house or stables. They were heading through the pasture, past the vegetable gardens, and towards the orchard that ran to the forest. “No! No!” Rose tried to yank away, to pull her hand free, but Bill grabbed her other one. “Go back! We can’t run!” They wouldn’t escape, couldn’t escape. A shout rang up from the house.    
  
“Rose, you have to keep going!” Mickey shouted, and then to her shock, Bill had a gun in her hand and was dragging Rose with the other. “We won’t leave you behind!”    
  
“They’ll catch us!” Rose screamed, as they dodged barren trees by the light of the small lantern. “They’ll beat us!” The sound of baying hounds pierced the night. They couldn’t out run them.    
  
Rose ached all over. She was exhausted, beaten, and her chest burned from the cold. The snow soaked her shoes, and the wind bit her face. The forest wasn’t far. The forest was dangerous, full of wolves, bears, and it was property of the Doctor. If they didn’t get caught, they’d freeze trying to reach the other side. Her friends wouldn’t let her stop, even as her legs burned and throbbed.    
  
The trees were dark, but blocked the snow. Mickey’s lantern barely pierced the night, and Rose stumbled over a fallen branch. Her friends dragged her for a heartbeat before she found her legs. The dogs were closer, and the O’Brien guard was shouting. “Split up, but keep heading north! There’s a lake just before the mountain begins to rise. Meet there!” Bill ordered, and suddenly she was gone.    
  
“Don’t stop Rose, do you hear me?” Mickey stumbled to a stop to cup her face. “Keep going north. We’ll find you!” He kissed her hair and he was gone. Rose was alone, and the dogs were so close. She couldn’t see much, except when the moon peeked through the trees and the clouds, so she kept running straight like she had been. A gunshot rang through the trees far to her left, followed by a yelp of a hound, and then Bill screamed. Rose tripped over her feet, as tears of panic began flowing. Yet she kept running.    
  
Branches tore at her clothes, at her hair and legs. Her lungs begged for relief. Her whole body pleaded for her to stop. Rose couldn’t. It was too late to stop. Her mind could only run. Something up ahead gave a thud, and a yellow glow hovered at waist height far ahead in the trees. There was a metallic creak, and another thud. Then teeth latched onto her arm. “No!” Rose was yanked down, as one of the hounds shattered her wrist. Another was on her leg, dragging her across the frozen leaves.    
  
Her head collided with a tree trunk, making her see stars, and then a lantern galloped into view. “Gotcha, ya little chav!” A man leapt off a horse, and his boot collided with Rose’s stomach. “Thought you could fuckin’ run, did ya?” Another kick landed on her leg, and the hound there released her. The other one was still yanking her arm. “We caught the others. Now we got you!”    
  
Rose screamed. Everything hurt, she couldn’t see strait. Her head throbbed and she could feel the blood on her arm and leg soaking her dress and skin. A whip cracked across her torso once, and then a thunderous growl filled the air.    
  
The creak of metal, the whir of gears, and a snarl like a pack of wolves sent the hounds running away whining. Suddenly a gust of wind blew over her, and the guard screamed in terror as his horse let out a shriek and galloped away. Rose scrambled to her feet, and as the lantern fell to the ground, she saw what was happening.    
  
A massive wolf had the guard pinned to the earth. Except it wasn’t a wolf. It was all metal, and it’s eyes glowed like miniature suns. It opened its jaws wide, with a lethal snarl, and then clamped down on the man’s head. Rose ran.    
  
She didn’t know where she was going now, couldn’t see anything. She hit trees, and her leg burned. Her arm was wracked with flaming pain, and she couldn’t move it. She ran and ran until the trees parted to reveal a huge lake just ahead. The clouds parted, and the half moon turned the world silver. Rose’s injured leg hit a limb, and it gave out. She tumbled into the dirt, her broken arm flashing pain up to her brain, and she tried to push herself up through it all. Her leg wouldn’t hold her weight, and her whole body was exhausted.    
  
Rose stared through the last stretch of trees at the lake, and then curled in on herself as the moon disappeared. She couldn’t run anymore, couldn’t stand, couldn’t find her way. She was alone in the forest, in the beginning of winter, and a monster was somewhere in the trees. She closed her eyes, trying to hide in the scant underbrush, and sobbed in pain. She was going to freeze to death, bleed out, or be eaten, and there was nothing to do but feel the pain.


	2. Chapter 2

Thump, thump, thump, squeak.   
  
The sounds jerked Rose out of her cold and pain induced darkness. She stifled a groan of agony as she tried to move her right arm reflexively to cover her mouth. A yellow glow was lighting up the darkness beyond the bushes she had wiggled into. There was a sniffing noise, almost like a gust of afternoon wind, and fear like nothing she had ever felt sent Rose’s heart racing again. The whir of gears and rushing air were softer than before, but still audible.    
  
For once, the twelves years of beatings and abuse came in handy. Rose knew how to swallow her pain, how to let it escape in the smallest of gasps and huffs. She needed to keep quiet, to try to hide.    
  
Thud, snuffle, thud   
  
The ground vibrated lightly under Rose, and she tried to hold her breath, to stay silent. The glow was brighter now, almost like those fancy lights on the steam carriage Lady Cassandra used to take long trips in the winter. THUD just outside of her hiding spot, and the bushes parted to reveal a blue, metal snout that was stained with blood. The inhale was so strong that it dragged her hair dragged across her face, and then the snout opened. Rose couldn’t help herself, as she saw the rows of razor sharp teeth reflecting the yellow light, and she screamed.    
  
She tried to get away, to scramble to her feet, but her bag and dress caught in the branches, and her arm and leg protested so loudly she saw stars and nearly blacked out. The maw clamped down on her shoulder, and Rose expected death. The teeth didn’t pierce her skin, just ripped her coat, and she was dragged out of the bush. “I don’t want to die!” She cried, raising her good hand to cover her head as the metal beast dropped her back to the earth.    
  
A whine, like metal struck by a hammer, filled the air, and the cold, smooth snout pressed against her chest. Hot air blew against Rose’s skin, and the smell of steam ghosted over her. The warmth made her swallow, as the snout nudged the arm covering her face. The creature whined again, as its paw, which was the size of her head, dragged across her stomach with surprising gentleness for its weight and size.    
  
Rose lowered her hand, shaking all over as she looked up at the glowing eyes. The metal wolf cocked its head, ears clicking as they moved, and it gave a grinding huff. “You...you aren’t attacking me.” She didn’t even know if it was able to understand her, but the wolf plopped its heavy hind end down to the ground with a chuff. The thud and creak of metal was nearly deafening in the silence, and there was a clicking, scraping noise. Rose blinked in shock as she saw the tail, nearly as long as she was, sliding back and forth over the frozen dirt. “You killed the guard.”    
  
The hinged plates around the creature’s muzzle shifted back, and a low snarl came from its throat. The sticky blood glinted nearly orange as the light from its eyes reflected off of it. Rose squeaked and tried to scramble away, but again forgot her injured leg and arm. When she cried out in pain, the snarl faded, and the wolf thing gave a whimper like air going through a smith’s bellow. The wolf lowered its head, then its whole body, and the yellow glow dimmed into almost nothing.    
  
Rose was reminded, briefly, of a puppy being scolded for chasing a cat. A terrifying but wonderful thought burst through her pain. “You killed the guard because he was hurting me?” It was the longest sentence she had uttered in months, but to her surprise, the eyes glowed back to their intense brightness, and the tail thudded twice on the ground. “You...you saved me?”    
  
The wolf jumped to its paws, with surprising agility for all its plating and hinges. It pun in two full circles and made this noise somewhere between a canny bark and a huff. Then it pressed its nose against her chest and blew out another exhale of steam. The warmth felt pleasant in the growing cold. Rose forced herself to sit up, despite the agonizing pain, and really look at it. The eyes were made of some sort of thick glass, and just like she had thought, it had the same bulbs as the steam carriage lamps behind the glass, only smaller.    
  
Cautiously, Rose raise her good hand to touch the muzzle. The metal wasn’t smooth, like she though, but covered with thin lines and swirls. As she squinted at the plates around the eyes, she saw it had been carefully etched to look like fur. It was cool furthest from the neck, but when Rose trailed her fingers down, she found it grew warmer. It was also vibrating subtly, and there was a low whirring sound in its chest accompanied by a muffled ticking like a clock.    
  
Rose had seen clockwork and steam powered autons before, as Lady Cassandra had brought home a wind up doll for Reinette. Reinette had broken it almost immediately, declaring it unsettling. Then she had tried a steam powered butler, but it had gotten stuck outside one night in the rain and rusted. What she had learned was that they were extremely expensive and required massive upkeep. Cassandra had given up on having one. This wolf was obviously well cared for, meticulously maintained, so it had an owner. This section of the country only had one human resident, the Doctor.    
  
The wolf gently bit into her sleeve again, tugging her up. Rose couldn’t stand and she yelped at the pain. The wolf released her, tilting its head, before lowering its snout to sniff at her arm and leg. It made a sort of whining chuff, then disappeared into the trees, and the sudden darkness took Rose by surprise. “Wolf?!” She cried out, as real howls echoed from somewhere to the east. At least, Rose thought it was east. She couldn’t even see her nose in front of her face.    
  
The glow came racing back, making her blink as the wolf skidded to a stop holding a large branch with a crutch like junction at one end. It dropped it, before lowering its front half to the ground with a loud gruff. “I don’t think I can stand.” Rose grabbed the stick, slotting it under her arm and pushed up. It was awkward, as she dragged her injured leg, and couldn’t use her broken arm to balance. The wolf stood up, metal sheets rubbing with tiny groans, and at this height its muzzle reached her neck.    
  
“Water.” Rose could see the lake by the two shimmering yellow balls on the surface. Each step seemed to take an eternity, as the freezing air, dizzying pain, and ache of her muscles tried to make her fall. The wolf stayed beside her the whole way, and she reached the lake, Rose fell down without ceremony to scoop the frigid water into her dry mouth.    
  
It relieved her thirst, but made her head throb more and turned her insides to ice. She was so tired, oh so tired, and Rose rolled onto her uninjured side to stare up at the beast. It chuffed at her again, blowing steam over her face, and pulled at her arm. “Can’t go.” Not only did she have no energy, but she didn’t want to even think about where it would take her. If her scattered thoughts were right, it would lead her to the Doctor. Nobody who entered the Doctor’s castle except for Jack ever came out.    
  
If she was going to die, Rose preferred to be alone in the forest, not part of some lunatics experiments. She closed her eyes, unable to fight the darkness anymore. The cold was fading, and her arm and leg felt numb and tingly instead of aching and burning. “Jus’ gonna sleep, wolf.” Then she fell into an abyss.    
  
When she came to, Rose found herself screaming. Her leg and arm were shooting pain so violently she vomited the little water and food in her stomach onto the leaves she was being dragged across. Rocks tumbled past her in the yellow glow, rolling down past her legs. For a moment she thought she was sliding, but then with another screech of horror, Rose realized she was being pulled up the ever increasing incline of a mountain trail by the back of her coat. “No! No!” She tried to struggle, but only managed to knock her head up into the wolf’s hard snout. The pain of the impact threw her back into the abyss.    
  
Rose was warm, blissfully so, but she felt odd and floaty. There was a strange ticking by her ear, and the low, echoey crackle of a fire in a stove, accompanied by the sound of hissing steam. The sky above her was turning gray, as snow fluttered down to her face. She tried to turn her head, but only saw grayish blue metal. The wolf whined, and Rose couldn’t keep her eyes open anymore. She didn’t ache anymore. She just felt numb, warm and numb, and she was happy to close her eyelids and sink into the black waters of unconsciousness.    
  
John rolled his neck as he remounted his horse. The trip home from Leadworth never took as long as the trip going, since he wasn’t burdened down with his myriad of inventions to deliver to King Brian and Queen Melinda. It took nearly a week and a half to get to the capitol, even with the steam powered wagons and crank energized coil motors he had invented five years before. It took only five days to return on horseback, but this time it took six, as Prince Rory asked him to ride with him until they reached the last village in Powell before his own territory began. Something about seeing a potential bride.    
  
John had snorted at that. He knew the O’briens, not well thankfully, but enough to know that Lady Reinette wouldn’t be a suitable match. Yes, she was smart, as lovely as a swan, but she was also spoiled and only wanted power. She took after her mother and late father well. He had agreed, if only because Rory was one of the few people John could talk to without intrusive questions that recalled the worst kind of memories. Rory understood why he preferred isolation, why the king and queen had granted him the old, abandoned castle in the Rift Mountains, and why they only asked him to come once a year.    
  
The tired horse, growling stomach, and the need to give his monthly supply order to Jack had delayed him to stay overnight with the Captain, who helped him maintain his isolation as well. By the time he had awoken at noon, signed off on the order supply and delivery date, and waited for the immediate supplies to be loaded onto a small cart to be pulled behind his horse, it was after three. If he rode swiftly, he should have reached his castle.    
  
He was held up on the road near the O’Brien estate just after sunset, as a guard alerted him to three missing indentured servants. John hated that term. He hated the whole concept. Indentured servants were simply slaves with a set freedom amount. He hated slavery as a whole, but it wasn’t outlawed. It wasn’t exactly a popular opinion amongst the common folk, but it was amongst many of the nobles. Hell, there were even indentured servants at the castle, but they were all tax evaders too weak to work in the quarries and mines, or  they were women.    
  
Still, he let them search his small cart, lowered his hood enough to show his face in the falling snow, then rolled his eyes at the slight fear. Honestly, he could slap Jack for starting the rumors that he experimented on humans and robbed graves, but it worked better than the simple requests to not venture onto his land. He never experimented on humans, and the few corpses he had taken apart to better understand the intricacies of how the human body functioned were executed criminals, donated by the King and the Queen. Since the rumors started, though, he hadn’t been bothered once.   
  
It wasn’t that he didn’t like people, because he did. It was because he deserved to be alone, after what he had done, after the deaths that had been his fault. John didn’t think the universe, in all of its cosmic balances, would ever forgive him for it, for the horror that his young, eager pride had caused. He couldn’t even forgive himself, so he was best alone with the clockwork and steam powered auton servants he had made, with Tardis, his greatest achievement and biggest attempt to ease some of his guilt.    
  
Oh, he’d missed her terribly when he was away, missed her creaking, chuffing, and eager nuzzle of him when he was feeling particularly sad and guilt ridden. Yet, John could never show her to the world, because then somebody might try to mimic his work, and it wouldn’t be with a half dead, paralyzed she wolf. They’d try it with humans. The thought was nauseating. So he’d left her behind, like he had the last three times, to patrol the forest and keep out any thieves, poachers, or lesser inventors who may try to take advantage of his annual journey.    
  
Tardis was a clever girl. She knew how to go to the coal pile swallow the chunks to refuel her fire. She knew how to rub her left flank against the the water valve until the cover flap opened and the faucet would refill her internal reservoir. She still had her wolf instincts that could detect someone who was genuinely lost or confused from someone who meant them harm. She may have the body of an auton, but her mind was still the wolf he’d found three years ago almost dead in the forest.    
  
The falling snow hindered his journey more, as it made the rarely traveled road slick, obscured, and hid the moon. Luckily he’d had one of his crack lamps, and he was able to illuminate some of his path. John had to keep his trek slow, so that the cart wouldn’t slip off the road and take himself and the horse with it over the occasional edge. He’d had to stop a few times to stretch his legs and work circulation into his extremities so they wouldn’t get frost bitten even with his thick, woolen socks and gloves.    
  
The higher he rode, the thinner and colder the air became. He was used to it though, after nine years of living in it, but the horse wasn’t, and it made the journey even slower. So much so, that the gloaming of sunrise turned the ever increasing snow fall and clouds gray just as the bridge that led to the castle gates came into view. They were half open, which meant the wolf was out in the forest.   
  
“Tardis!” He called out, dismounting the horse to keep it calm when his best friend would no doubt come running. His voice echoed off of the distant stone walls and mountain sides. “Here girl!” He licked his lips to let out an ear shattering whistle. That was safe this early in the winter, but later it would cause avalanches. “Tardis, I’m back!”    
  
John cocked his head, listening for the morning birds to stop singing, for the tell tale four count thump to echo back. This close to dawn, she should be returning to refuel or already be inside the gates. The birds kept singing, and there were no thumps. “Tardis!” He called again, worry beginning to fill his chest. Had she accidentally fallen in the lake at the base of the mountain? Had she injured herself? Had she stayed out too long and ran out of coal or water? She couldn’t, because then she would die, truly die.    
  
James sighed in relief as a howl reverberated through the trees, deeper than it had when she was flesh and blood, but it was her. He threw his head back, and gave a howl in reply, then smiled. Tardis’ howl came again, this time a bit closer, and he laughed as she came bounding through the trees. As predicted, the horse balked, but Tardis knew to stop and let him calm the poor thing. He held out his hand, expecting her to come to him, but she didn’t.    
  
Tardis spun in two circles, ears falling back, tail straight out and not wagging. John tied the reins of the horse to a branch, and approached the wolf. “Hey girl, what-“ his words died as he saw the sheen of blood on her muzzle and teeth when her jaws opened. “Intruder?” He queried, but Tardis gave a whine that she normally only made when he’d injured himself. She slapped her paws on the ground then darted into the trees. “Where are you going?”    
  
Tardis dashed back, and she pulled gently at his arm with her teeth, her steam billowing over John as she whined again. She had done this once before, when Jack had slipped off the road during a trip up to deliver a message from the King and had been caught by a rock slide. Someone was hurt, badly hurt. “Show me.” She released his arm and dashed into the forest.    
  
John gave chase, holding up his lantern to light where the meager sun had not. They were maybe seventy meters from the road, in a copse of trees that did not allow the steady snow to cover much of the ground, and he skidded to a stop. Tardis was nuzzling a small bundle of tattered, blood stained clothes that had a small knapsack attached to it. With a whine, the wolf’s nuzzle rolled it over, and John felt his breath leave him.    
  
It was a woman, no older than eighteen or nineteen, with short golden blonde hair. Her skin was ashen, and blue tinted her exposed fingers. Her breaths were coming in ragged, uneven gasps, and the only color on her face was the bluish purple in the corner of her lips and the red from frost on her button of a nose. “Bloody hell.” John set his lantern down, shaking the woman. “Wake up, come on.” Her stomach and neck were somewhat warm, and in the glow of his lantern and Tardis’ eyes, he could see the imprint on the ground where the wolf must have curled around her to keep her warm.    
  
The woman didn’t open her eyes, didn’t respond at all. Then he saw that the blood was from her. Her right sleeve was ripped, exposing chunks of pale flesh and fat, and her skirt was ripped as well. The wounds on her legs weren’t as bone deep, but still jagged and nasty. She looked like she had been mauled by dogs. “Can’t be.” John refused to believe it, until he shoved the sleeve of her coat up and saw the metal band. She was one of the run aways. “Good.”    
  
He picked up his lantern, cranking it a few times to make sure it would stay lit, then he held out the handle for Tardis to bite and carry it. Once that was done, he scooped the limp woman into his arms. “Lead the way back, girl.” He nodded to Tardis, who began padding through the trees. Once they reached the horse and cart, John laid the woman gently into it and pulled his cloak off to tuck it around her. Then he remounted the horse and crossed the bridge to his castle.    
  
Once the gates clicked shut, he turned the horse towards the stables, and Tardis loped off to go eat her coal and fill her tank. He unhitched the cart in the shelter of the stables, took the tack off the horse, and turned it loose in the indoor paddock. Then he checked on the girl, who was still breathing haggardly but not turning any bluer, before filling a feed and water bucket to hang up and toss a few flakes of hay into the grated holder. Ignoring his supplies, John scooped the woman delicately into his arms, and carried her up to the castle.    
  
The inside wasn’t much warmer than the outside, since he had turned off all of his autons that maintained it, but it didn’t take John long to carry her up to his room and get a fire going. Then he stripped her coat, knapsack and boots off before rushing to his medical lab to fill his arms full of medicine, bandages, sutures, and other such necessities. Once he had those dumped out on the desk in his room, he raced downstairs to get a pot to boil water in.    
  
He filled it from the taps in his bathing room, another invention of his own that pumped water right up from an underground spring. This early in winter, it flowed freely, but later, when the harsh freezes set in, he’d have to let the tap run constantly to keep the pipes from bursting. Then he hung it on a bar that usually held his tea kettle, to boil.    
  
As it warmed, John turned his attention back to the girl. It was obvious that the palor came from blood loss and cold combined, but what he was fearing was infection. He couldn’t panic though, because then he would rush, would mess up, and that would make things worse. He forced himself into work mode, into the same, careful, focused mindset he’d been in when he worked to save Tardis.    
  
First, he stripped the woman out of her filthy, tattered, and stained dress and underthings. What was waiting there nearly undid him. The woman was sickly skinny, not so much that she was starving, but she was severely malnourished. Her ribs and hip bones stuck out, and the skin along her clavicles sunk in so deep he could have put his whole thumb in. Her body was littered with bruises, fresh ones, ones that had been forming before the blood loss and had stopped. Even if had wanted to leer at her body, which he didn’t, he couldn’t.    
  
“Damn O’briens.” John growled, as he tore his eyes away to examine her wounds. The arm was definitely fractured, possibly in two places, but he wouldn’t be able to see unless he carried her up to his lab to take a bone photo like he did to the occasional dead criminal. It wasn’t fully broken, though, that he could tell. Her leg wasn’t broken at all, just had nasty bites that had ripped into her muscle. Luckily, both wounds seemed to have avoided severing arteries.    
  
Yet, he couldn’t fully clean her arm and brace it with that blasted bracelet in the way. Hurrying to his desk, John picked up some of his smaller tools and returned to her side. It only took him a minute to pick the lock. The bracelet clicked open and he slid it off her wrist. He held it up in the light from the bulbs powered by the small steam generator he’d developed that sat by the hearth. “Rose Tyler.” He read the inscription on the band. “Born in April, seventeen-fifty eight, property of Lady O’brien.” He sneered at the words. “Not any more you aren’t.” He tossed the useless bracelet aside, and went to work picking debris from her wounds. When the water was boiling, John soaked some cloths, and then really focused on treating her wounds.


	3. Chapter 3

It took John the better part of two hours to get Rose patched up. He’d sutured up her arm and leg after thoroughly cleaning the wounds. She didn’t even flinch when he was rinsing the wound with alcohol, just continued to breathe raggedly. Tardis came in just as the water was boiling, and sat on the other side of the bed with her head on the sheets. Her eyes gave Rose’s ashen skin a yellow tint, turning the bruises a strange green.    
  
Once her wounds were sewn shut, John got more water to warm, the carefully washed her skin clean. He didn’t let himself look at her body, only the sections of skin he was washing. He couldn’t do her hair, as he was a bit afraid to jostle her. When she was as clean as she could be with just a wet rag, he went to the kitchen to take some broth he had in the cub board he had invented to keep food cold. That had been an invention the king and the queen had gladly added to their kitchens as well. He warmed it up, watering it down some so it would be easier to trickle into her mouth. When he returned to the bedroom, Tardis hadn’t moved.    
  
John wondered exactly what had happened, but it wasn’t like either of them could explain. He’d have to ask Rose when she woke up. As he spooned the liquid carefully into her mouth, she did flutter her eyes a bit and moan, but then she slipped back into unconsciousness. Satisfied that she was warming up, he trickled a dose of poppy extract down her throat to help her pain, and then he retreated to his lab.    
  
Rose’s arm needed to be braced. He would have preferred a full cast, but wanted to have access to her sutures to keep them clean. Her leg would need one too, so that she wouldn’t put weight on it. Making them would be no issue at all. He had enough materials in this lab alone to build a street of houses. It was just the matter of finding the right parts since his equipment wasn’t up and running to cut them down or size them.    
  
John was tired, as he had been riding all night, but he shoved it aside. He could sleep once her arm and leg were stabilized. He thought he’d done a well enough job cleaning her wounds, but she may already have bacteria in her blood. If she spiked a sepsis fever, then there was a chance she’d convulse. The last thing he needed was her exacerbating any injuries. He would have given her some medicine to stave off infections, but with her body already in distress trying to cope with and replenish her lost blood, not to mention her dreadful weight, he didn’t want to put any more strain on it.    
  
So he threw all of his energy into using the curved metal designed to form small autons, hitching them together with hinges and leather straps, and lined the inside with small pockets of leather stuffed with wool. That took almost another two hours, and he carried them carefully back down to his room.    
  
John would have put her in one of the dozen guest rooms, but they were all packed with scrap parts, failed inventions, and crates overflowing with coal. The mountain was rich with it, one of the reasons he’d chosen this as his home, and during the summer he had a whole crew of autons that mined it. He had learned his first year not to send them during the winter, as the cold and strong winds often froze their joints or knocked them over into the snow. It was best to stock up on coal and wood from spring to fall, and then close down the mine until the seasons grew warm.    
  
Poor Rose wasn’t looking much better, although she did make tiny whines of pain like a starving kitten when he lifted her arm to buckle it into the brace. It was a somewhat snug fit, but he simply used a small bevel to add additional holes to the leather straps. It would suffice in keeping her arm in alignment, but the straps allowed her sutures to breathe and be cleaned. He faced the same problem with her leg, but simply repeated the technique. Satisfied that he had done a fine job with his crafts, John yawned.    
  
“Come on, Rose, drink a bit.” He lifted her head gently to trickle some warm water down her throat. Her head lolled to the side when he lowered it back down. Her skin was regaining some temperature, and all of the blue and purple had faded. If it had been any one else treating her, John knew they would have deemed her a lost cause and simply poured copious amounts of elixir of poppy to numb her passing, or even sped it up with hemlock. “But you aren’t a lost cause, are you Rose?” He murmured, as he tucked the blankets in around her.    
  
Whatever else she was, Rose had to be resilient. The state of her body, not including the hypothermia and blood loss, would have left most people unable to stand. She had somehow run away and made it deep enough into the woods to cross paths with Tardis. The shewolf knew that she shouldn’t wander too close to the borders on any side. Not only that, she’d been attacked by dogs, most likely hounds as wolves would have gone for her throat or stomach, befriended Tardis, survived being dragged almost up to the castle, and withstood the frigid snow, which was now almost a blizzard outside the window, all night. Fortitude like that wasn’t exactly something everyone had. She’d pull through this, and judging by the way Tardis was sticking by her side, the wolf knew that too.    
  
The exhaustion of it all weighed on him, and John gave another yawn as he stared at the clock on the wall. It was nearly noon, and he needed to sleep. Since his bed was occupied, he kicked off his boots, grabbed one of the pillows Rose wasn’t using, and dug some sheets and blankets out of the chest at the foot of the bed. He added some more wood to the fire, then stripped off his traveling shirt so he was only in the woolen under tunic, and curled up on the rug to sleep. “If Rose opens her eyes, girl, wake me up.” Tardis answered with a chuff and three thuds of her tail on the floor. John heaved a heavy sigh, and closed his eyes. Thankfully he was too spent to dream, so the nightmares didn’t come.    
  
Rose was freezing, and the cold was so deep she felt it in every fiber of her being. It was dark, so dark, pinning her down as the ice filled her veins. Even the ever constant ache in her body was cold, like frozen nails being hammered into her body. Sometimes the dark was pierced by a tinny whine, and sometimes a metallic chuff made her head throb. She couldn’t move, couldn’t even lift a finger, and the dark claimed her again.    
  
She felt like she was falling, when the darkness eased again. Unintelligible words floated through her, like the low murmur of the packed dining room through the kitchen door. Hot, salty liquid spilled across her tongue, and she was too heavy to even gag. Her chest felt weird, like it didn’t remember how to breath right. The cold pain was washing over her again, and the hot salt was replaced by cool sweetness. It coated her throat, numbing it against heat and cold. The darkness formed into the glimmer of a poppy before it took her again.    
  
When the abyss eased its hold on her, she was burning inside but freezing all over. Her body flamed with pain, as the all enveloping blackness was full of red and gold stars, and she found herself flailing in it against her control. The voice was back, shouting now, but she didn’t understand it, Then she was being drenched in cold rain. The darkness was a blessed escape, and as her body stilled, she tasted bitter liquid followed by the sweet numbness of poppy.    
  
When the darkness finally eased its control on her, Rose became hazily aware of two things. One, her arm and leg hurt horribly, and two, something that tasted like chicken and salt was washing down her throat. She gagged as it went the wrong way, coughing, gasping for air. A hand held the back of her head up, and she spit the intrusive broth out of her mouth.    
  
“Easy, Rose.” An unfamiliar man’s voice crooned, and a thumb brushed the back of her head. As she gagged again, Rose’s eyes finally opened and she found a metal bowl held in front of her fuzzy eyes. She didn’t panic, not at first, figuring she was being tended to by a healer from the village. “There’s a girl. Now gently...” the man eased her head back onto the softest pillow she had ever felt, and the dark stone roof over head became slowly visible.    
  
“Hurt all over.” She gasped, as she tried to lift her arm. It throbbed painfully, and was uncharacteristically heavy. A damp rag began wiping her mouth and chin, and she sighed. Turning her head, she found the face of a man watching her with concerned eyes. Beyond him, a window showed the pink of sunrise through rich, blue curtains. There were no curtains in the shack, or anywhere in the manor house.    
  
He raised a vial to her lips, and Rose could taste poppy elixir on the rim. She parted her lips obediently, and swallowed with some difficulty as he tilted the yellow liquid down her throat. “Not too much, Rose. You’ll go back to sleep if you do.” His lips pursed slightly as he pulled it back, and then he set it aside on a table.    
  
Rose blinked, trying to orientate herself. She was in a massive bed, one that would put Lady Cassandra’s to shame, with the most luxurious blankets she’d ever felt tucked around her. A grinding whine came from the bed opposite the man, and then a bluish metal wolf’s head spun into view. Suddenly, it call came rushing back with clarity. She’d run, been caught, and mauled by hounds. The guard had tried to whip her, but the wolf had charged in. She had run again.    
  
The lake had been freezing on her throat, and her arm and legs had been growing numb and useless. There was a blank spot, until she was being dragged up the mountain. Then she was wrapped against the wolf’s belly, its fire inside staving off the wind. After that it was black. The wolf whined again, tail creaking as it swished. “Hush, Tardis. Let her get her bearings.”’ The man tsked the metal wolf, and then it clicked. He wasn’t just any man. He was the Doctor.    
  
“No!” Rose screamed as panic flooded her. She tried to scramble away, but her arm throbbed and wouldn’t bend. Her leg ached and burned, feeling heavy. “No! No!” The room spun, as she fell to the side, but the Doctor caught her with ease and held her upright as he shook his head. Her head throbbed as the world disappeared for a blink. Then she was back against the pillows.    
  
“You’re safe.” The Doctor brushed her hair back, his rich brown eyes narrowed with worry. “I know, Jack tells everyone I’m insane, but I’m not. I won’t hurt you.” Though his face showed concern, his voice held a hint of amusement. She didn’t believe him. He was nobility, and they were cruel. Rose clutched the blankets with her good hand, trembling all over. The wolf, Tardis, gave a chuff and nuzzled the sheets. “I’m not going to hurt you. I swear.”    
  
Rose swallowed, as he ran a hand through his messy hair. She didn’t speak, though she had a storm of questions in her mind. How did she get there? Why was he staring at her like that? Why was she in such a luxurious bed? How long had she been here? “You’ve been asleep for almost three days.” The Doctor rubbed the back of his neck with a grimace. “That’s partially my fault. I only have poppy to help with the pain, and I think I gave you a bit too much last night.” Three days?! She’d been in his castle for three days?! “When your fever broke, you were crying and mumbling in your sleep about hurting.”    
  
She could feel the elixir in her body now, taking the edge off the aching enough that she could move her arms. Her throat was dry and hot though, but she was used to that. So she tried to swallow her spit, but there wasn’t much to help. Rose didn’t want to ask for water, because she didn’t think he’d get it. He had treated her wounds, yes, but that didn’t mean anything. He could just want her healthy to experiment on. “Are you thirsty?” He seemed a bit confused. She didn’t answer, just blinked reflexively. “Hang on.” In a flash, he was out of the chair he had settled in and disappeared across the room. When he returned, the Doctor was holding a goblet and extended it to her.    
  
Rose didn’t sit back up, didn’t take it. What if it was poison or some sort of drug to knock her out? Would she wake up to being cut open? “Stars above.” He gave a low chuckle and took a gulp from the goblet. “I saved your life, Rose Tyler. I’m not going to hurt you.” His long hands extended it again. “I know you want some water. It’s fresh, from the spring below the castle.” He cocked one eyebrow, his lips twitching up in an amused smile.    
  
Tardis gave a low chuff, and Rose glanced over at it. The metal ears creaked as the lights in its eyes dimmed like it had when it scared her. She pushed herself up, extending her left hand, and took the goblet. Rose took a hesitant sip, and the fresh, cold water felt wonderful. The severity of her thirst hit her, and she eagerly began chugging. The blanket slid down her body, and the Doctor made a weird noise. He squeezed his eyes shut, cheeks flushing, and Rose pulled the goblet away from her lips to look down.    
  
She was completely bare, her skin exposed to the room. Rose yelped in shock, dropping the empty goblet, and snatched the blankets up to her chest. Why was she naked? Where were her clothes? Her stomach lurched from the cold water. She’d drank too fast. She couldn’t stop her body from rejecting the fluid. It soaked the blanket, making her eyes water and burn. Tardis whined loudly, and the Doctor leapt to his feet. “Don’t move!” Like she could? Her stomach twisted again, and more liquid coated her arm and the blanket.    
  
Suddenly the Doctor was back, holding a towel in one hand and a luxurious looking men’s dressing robe in another. His eyes were shut, as he held them out. Rose’s head spun, but she dropped the sullied blanket to take the towel and wipe herself down with her uninjured left arm. Her right one felt too heavy, hurt too much to move. She shifted the blankets down to her knees, which took more energy out of her than she imagined, and dropped the towel onto it. Then she took the robe.    
  
It was as soft as it looked, a rich brown material she didn’t know the name of, and it eased up her arm as she worked it in. Once that one was done, she finally looked down at her injured arm to grab it. It was bound up in some sort of metal and leather brace over her palm and up to her elbow, and through the straps she could see expertly done sutures. Had he done them? Why? It didn’t make sense. She whimpered through clenched teeth as she took her arm in her fingers and moved it to her bare thighs. There, she carefully eased the other sleeve over it, and pulled the edges tight around her body.    
  
“Safe to look?” The Doctor’s voice sounded hesitant and bit strained. Rose didn’t answer. Why did he care about her being covered anyways? He was a Lord and she was a servant. One of those brown eyes eased open, and then he let out a relieved sigh. “I need to change the sheets. Why don’t we move you to the chair, hmm?” He held out a hand, and Rose shrank back. She didn’t need help. She could stand.    
  
Rose eased her legs over the side of the bed, and when her right one throbbed as an unfamiliar weight made it flop down, she looked at it. A brace was fitted to it too, keeping it straight and stable. Why did he have braces like this? Were they for his experiments? Underneath her exhaustion was a flicker of fear. She had to get out, to escape. She wouldn’t become another one of his victims. She tried to dart, but pain burned up her leg as she put pressure on it, and with a shout she went down.    
  
“Careful!” The Doctor seized her around her waist, and Rose tried to jerk away. She didn’t have the strength, and the room was spinning dangerously. “Here, sit Rose.” He eased her into the chair, tucking the robe around her legs. “Just rest here a bit, okay.” Then he shifted away to strip the bed.    
  
Tardis came around the bed, flopping down to sit beside her with a cocked head. Rose leaned her pounding head back against the chair and looked at it. It was larger than a regular wolf, but not as big as it had seemed in the forest. If she could stand, the massive head would come to her shoulder. The metal plates that made up the body were varying hues of blue from rich navy to nearly gray. The bolts and hinges were white, black, and gold.    
  
“She likes you.” The Doctor’s amused voice made Rose look at him. He was scooping blankets out of a chest by the bed. He offered her a small smile, but Rose didn’t return it. Her mind felt too fuzzy and unfocused to try to figure out what he was playing at. “Not sure how you managed to cross her path, but she saved your life by leading me to you.”    
  
Had she really? How could an auton be a she? Had Tardis just delivered her into a new kind of enslavement? Rose didn’t know, but she didn’t ask. She just looked around the room as best she could. It had a bed, a fireplace that was roaring, a long table along a far wall that was covered in spare parts and tools. A lower table beside a sofa had the remnants of a dinner and tea scattered across it, and the sofa had half a dozen books piled on two of the cushions. In front of the fireplace was a nest of blankets and pillows. That was odd, but she didn’t question it.    
  
Off to the side was a strange, humming, contraption with knobs and switches that was hooked to a two pipes that ran through holes in the floor and a third that ran up into the flume of the hearth. From the back, wires were snaking up the wall and along the bricks of the ceiling to a candleless chandelier. Small bulbs were glowing around them. More wires ran to fixtures along the wall, where sconces held more of those bulbs. They were giving the room more light than any torches or oil lanterns could.    
  
This didn’t look like a spare bedroom. This looked like it was lived in, readily used, and Rose drew a bleary conclusion that it must be his room. Why had he brought her to his room? Tardis leaned her metal snout down to nuzzle Rose’s good hand. “I know you can talk.” The Doctor was suddenly crouched down in front of her, his eyes on level with her as they flicked between her own. “You talk in your sleep, but not when you’re awake.” Rose swallowed hard, lowering her head to prepare for a slap. He sounded frustrated. “No, hey, I’m not gonna hit you.”    
  
Not right now anyways, but he would eventually. Rose knew what to expect from people of his class. Money and power were all they wanted, and they wouldn’t tolerate being disrespected. Tardis rubbed her head against his arm, snd to Rose’s disbelief, he kissed the metal snout. Weakness and nausea rocked Rose again, and the room went dark. When it let her go, blankets were being tucked around her in the bed smd the thick sweetness of poppy coated her tongue. “Sleep Rose.” The Doctor dragged his fingers softly over her eyes, and even though Rose was terrified of what would come, she was too spent to resist.  This time it wasn’t the empty abyss, it was dreams of her running through the forest.    
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  



	4. Chapter 4

John wasn’t offended in the least that Rose had clammed up as soon as she realized where she was. She hadn’t had to say a word at all. Those intense amber eyes had spoken volumes. She had heard the rumors, and she believed them. Wasn’t that the point of them in the first place, to keep people from barging in on him? Of course, the other nobles and higher calibre merchants knew he wasn’t insane. Well, not that type of insane.    
  
Eccentric is what people had always called him, even as a boy. His mind just worked differently than others, swirling with ideas that would keep him awake, that drove him to tinker and build and create at dark hours of the mornings. For the last three days, he hadn’t had much of an urge to tinker, because he hadn’t wanted to leave Rose alone in case she had woken up except to go the clock tower and activate the autons that ran the power sources of the castle and feed the horse.    
  
It had been a good thing too, as the second afternoon she’d spiked a fever that made her convulse, but that was a good sign. Fever meant her body was fighting, meant she was struggling to pull through. John had given her medicine for infection after the seizing stopped, and then spent hours wiping her burning skin down with cold rags to keep her fever from spiking again. The half an hour she had been awake, even if she hadn’t spoken much and was terrified of him, had been a relief. Now she was actually sleeping, not unconscious, not drugged by his accidental overdose of pain reliever, but truly sleeping.    
  
Normally John didn’t like having people in his castle. Not because he didn’t like people in general, but because he didn’t deserve to have them. This was different. Rose wasn’t somebody out trying to ask intrusive questions, bother him, or steal his ideas. She was hurt, needed someone to tend to her for a change, and he could help her. It wasn’t like he had created or built the thing that caused her injuries. She hadn’t died because he failed to remember... no, he wouldn’t let his thoughts travel that road. Rose wasn’t them, no.    
  
Rose was like Tardis, broken, weak, and knocking on the reapers door when he found her. That he could fix, although she wouldn’t need a new metal body like Tardis had. She just needed her current one to mend, needed to nourish it, and needed to know he truly meant her no harm. Given how skittish she was, John wondered if he should take the same approach he had with Tardis.    
  
It would take another two days for the castle to be fully powered, but the kitchen was totally operational, as were the library and lifts that made the castle more accessible to Tardis than the stairs. The steam powered the cranks to the massive coils he had installed in the clock tower, and the cranks generated the energy to keep his labs and other commonly used rooms powered by electricity. Soon he wouldn’t need the generator in his own to be running.    
  
As he dug meat and vegetables from the cooling cupboard, he went to work preparing a nice stew. It was more substantial than the broth but not too heavy for her stomach, and he made sure each piece was cut small enough for her to chew and swallow easily. John made a mental note to activate the autons that worked in the indoor garden to gather more vegetables, and by the end of next week, Jack and a few nervous villagers would deliver a few cows, sheep, and chickens to hold him over for the winter.    
  
He could always go hunting the fowl and deer that roamed his wild lands, but he hated doing it. It was always a last resort, usually at the tail end of the season. Come spring, Donna Noble and her grabdfather, Wilfred Mott, would come up from the capitol to work in the outdoor gardens and bring livestock with them. At the end of the summer, they’d help with the preparations for winter and then return home. John liked them well enough, mostly because they knew his story, knew not to bother him. They were careful, and he never had to worry about being responsible for their wellbeing. By the end of summer, though, he was ready for them to leave.    
  
Having Rose in the castle during the winter was a strange feeling. These months were always the hardest for him, when the guilt was heaviest, but he couldn’t exactly just deliver her back down to the O’briens. Even if he was heartless and cruel he couldn’t, because it would take his autons at least a week to clear the bridge and road down below the heavier snow line. When she was ready to leave, he’d simply send a message to King Brian requesting her to be brought there or wherever she wanted.    
  
“Nobody should ever have to suffer like that.” John gritted his teeth as he scooped two bowls full if the stew and moved the other two or three bowls worth to the cooler. Then he loaded the bowls onto a tray. Rose was still asleep, but stirring some as he came in, looking so tiny and frail in his robe. “Clothes.” John grimaced as he set the tray down and scrunched his nose up at the three dresses he’d pulled off of her and dug from her bag. They were threadbare, patched, and darned so much he couldn’t tell how old they were. He didn’t have clothes for women in the castle, just his own. They’d have to work.    
  
“Mum...” Rose gave a weak sob, her head jerking on the pillow. “Help me mummy.” Her face was the epitome of anguish, as a tear rolled down her cheek. “Come back!” Her eyes snapped open just as John had reached down to stroke her hair, to comfort her. He knew how painful nightmares could be. Those terrified eyes met his, and she gave a wordless cry and curled in on herself.   
  
“Rose, its okay. I’m not going to hurt you.” John knew it would take weeks, even months, for her to believe it. Tardis had taken lots of coaxing to stop trying to rip his hand off when he fed her. He pulled his hand back, waiting for the woman to look up at him. Color was returning to her skin, and he was pleased to see the pink in her cheeks and full lips. “You need to eat, okay. I made us some stew. If you can only drink it, thats fine. It’ll be more nutritious than the broth.” He gestured to the bowls. “Let’s prop you up on the pillows, and get some food in your belly.”    
  
Rose pursed her lips shut, and her face paled as she pushed herself up. She was obviously still in pain, but at least she wasn’t falling over again. Slowly, so as not to startle her, John moved the pillows behind her so she could recline. Then he sat the tray on her lap, took his own bowl to set it on the small night table, and picked up the bottle of poppy extract. “I’m going to mix this into some water, so it doesn’t make you sick again okay?” He didn’t even get a nod. “Start off with small bites first.”    
  
He only waited long enough to see if she could lift the spoon, all be it awkwardly, with her left hand, and then headed to the pot of water he’d left warming by the hearth to refill her goblet. Tardis made a huffing whine, before she clinked from the room, obviously to go refuel herself. When he turned back to Rose, she was staring at the door with a frown. “She’ll be back. Her coal and water reservoirs are low. You can say she’s going to have her breakfast.” John set her goblet on the tray before picking up his own bowl. “How bad is the pain? Are the braces too heavy?”    
  
Rose blinked at him, as if confused by his question. He didn’t understand why she wouldn’t speak. He could tell her mind was racing. She shifted her arm, as if testing something, but could only lift it up to the tray before she gave a heavy huff and dropped it. “Too heavy then? I’ll make you some new ones, with lighter materials, once you can get out of bed without falling.” She opened her mouth and for a moment he thought Rose would speak, but she just stuck the spoon between her lips.    
  
The stew was good, Rose had to admit to herself. It was definitely fresh, obviously just made, which was something she hadn’t had since she was a child. The Doctor talked a lot, which surprised her, and he was young. He was older than her by at least five years, but not what she had imagined. The way everyone discussed him, she had pictured some crazy older man with cruel eyes and dark clothes. He had silky looking brown hair with streaks of chestnut, proud cheek bones framed by sideburns, an elegant jaw, and smooth lips. The bottom one had a tendency to pout out just a bit. He was long and lean, wearing a blue shirt tucked into brown pinstripe trousers.    
  
His voice didn’t have that same proper lilt as other nobility, but nowhere near the brusque accent that those born of lower stature like herself had either. It was a pleasant medium of both. The Doctor talked, a lot. He asked a lot of questions, and Rose didn’t know what to make of it. The only people who talked to her like an equal this way were other servants. It was odd. He had to know who she was, where she came from, because it was on her wrist under the brace. It all unsettled her.   
  
So Rose slowly at her stew. It was hard using her left hand, but she managed. She tried a few bites of the meat, swallowing cautiously in case her stomach rebelled. The poppy laced water was helping ease her pain, which wasn’t as excruciating as before. She knew most of the aching was from the fever, running for so long, and the beatings. The pain of her more extreme injuries would fade in to a tolerable level in a day or so. “So how did Tardis find you?”    
  
Rose flicked her eyes up to him, unsure of what to say. He knew she was a runaway, but if she said she’d intentionally gone into his forest, he may become angry. She didn’t want another beating. He was eating as well, perched in that chair, looking at her like she was the most interesting thing he’d ever seen. She just looked back down at her bowl. What was the point in speaking? He didn’t honestly care what she had to say. “I’m not going to punish you for trespassing.” He paused for a moment. “Or for being a runaway.”    
  
Rose spooned more stew into her mouth and chanced a look up at him. His bowl was empty, as he set it aside. He had to be lying, because nobility was never so forgiving. Her hunger was edged, but not satisfied, although she’d only had about six spoonfuls. She knew better than to try to eat more than she had ever been allowed, and she set the spoon down. “Are you sure you can’t eat a bit more? You haven’t had much than broth for three days, and I don’t know how long before that it was that you had a meal.”    
  
She could have more? That didn’t make sense to her. She was still hungry, and when he picked up the spoon to hand it back, Rose took it in her fingers. “Just eat until you can’t anymore. Unless you don’t like it. I can go cook something else for you?” He had cooked this? The Doctor cooked his own food? Didn’t he have servants or slaves like the O’briens and other nobles? “Just tell me, or shake your head if it isn’t to your liking.” Rose did like it, and there was a bit of a disappointed and hesitant edge to his voice. She spooned another bite into her mouth. “I was worried maybe it wasn’t good. I only ever cook for me, because nobody else lives here.”    
  
So when the rumors said he lived alone, they meant really alone? How could one man keep a castle liveable on his own? Was the rest of it decrepit and in ruin? Rose didn’t particularly care to know, but wondering gave her mind a distraction. She managed to get down four more bites before her stomach felt fuller than it had in years, then she lowered her spoon. He looked a bit more satisfied by that.    
  
As he took her tray away, Rose whined internally as her body pushed another need to the forefront of her mind. She really had to use the loo. She didn’t know where it was, or how she was going to get there. A more horrifying thought hit her. She’d been unconscious for three days, and yet the sheets had been clean, and her body had been too, well except her hair. If he was alone, then that meant he’d handled all of that. She was equal parts confused and mortified. Still, she needed to go.    
  
The Doctor seemed to understand she was trying to look for something, because he mirrored her glance around until her eyes landed on a door that was partially cracked open. “Oh, blimey I’m an idiot. Here, let me help you.” Before Rose could object he had scooped her off the bed to cradle her. “I’ll set you down, just use the pipes to hold yourself up. When you’re finished, pull the chain okay?”    
  
None of what he said made sense, until he lowered her slowly to her feet and steadied her. Pipes were running along the wall, coming up from the floor to drip water into a wash basin, to curve over a strange wash tub that had one going into the floor, and chair with a metal bowl under it that had a metal box of some sort in the back and a chain that led into the top of the box. “Just... erm... sit in the chair and I’ll wait outside.” With that, the door shut.    
  
Rose dragged herself along, and had to admit that she was marveling at everything. There were more lights in here, and as she drew closer to the odd chamber pot chair thing, she saw a metal barrel behind the tub that had a pipe flowing into it, a coal fire burning under it, and it led to one of the pipes over the tub. What were they all for? She blinked, as she stumbled to the chair, her leg throbbing and weighed down by the brace, and saw that the metal portion had a large hole that led down, and water was trickling along the sides. She took care of what she needed, finding a roll of tissues attached to one of the chair arms to wipe herself. She stood, a bit eager to see what the chain did, and pulled it. The box in the back of the chair made a slosh and a creak, then water gushed in, leaving the bowl clean as it disappeared down the pipe. She was amazed by the device, and a bit jealous. This could mean nobody ever had to dump chamber pots again.    
  
“Coming in now.” The door opened, and the Doctor eased into the room. Rose didn’t particularly want him touchingly her again, but her whole body ached. He looped an arm around her waist, and she had no choice but to lean into him. She needed to sit down, but didn’t want to go back to the bed. Her back hurt from laying so long. As if he could sense her thoughts, he stopped before veering to the sofa. “Here, Rose, easy now, I’ve gotcha.”    
  
She sank onto the cushion, and then to her surprised, he grabbed a pillow from the pile on the floor, placed it on the low table, and then gently lifted her braced leg to rest on it. “I need to look at and clean your sutures. Okay?” Rose couldn’t exactly say no, so she nodded once and he began unbuckling the straps. “Your leg isn’t broken, but the muscles and tendons were pretty damaged. This is to keep you from straining them while they heal.” The brace fell open, and she saw that her leg was pretty swollen, red, and the sutures were leaking. Without the added weight, though, the throbbing eased. Those coffee brown eyes seemed like he was examining her face, and the relief must have shown. “I’ll get started on lighter braces immediately after your wounds are tended.”   
  
The sincerity and concern in his voice was shocking. Rose couldn’t remember the last time anyone had spoken to her like that. She swallowed hard, as she found herself slightly uncomfortable with it. Her cheeks were turning warm. “I didn’t know they were hurting you so badly, I’m so, so sorry.” He was dashing around the room, gathering bottles and boxes and rags. Then he was kneeling on the floor, taking her leg in gentle fingers. “It’s gonna sting, okay, maybe burn. You tell me if it’s too much and I’ll stop.” He pulled the cork out of a bottle with his teeth and poured the liquid onto the sutures.    
  
It stung like fire, making her head spin, stomach clench, but she gritted her teeth. Then he began to delicately wipe the knots. Every so often he looked up at her, but Rose didn’t protest the pain. Better to hurt now than need an amputation, which according to stories, he was expert at performing. She was even more confused. Why would he be so kind and gentle with her, when he was known for turning humans into discarded scraps? Maybe he only tortured men?    
  
An even worse thought crossed her mind, was he set the cloth aside and stood. What if he was going to do other things to her? What if he was getting her all fed and comfortable to gain her trust, and then tortured her in other ways? Panic flooded her chest, and the room spun again. He stacked the books on the cushion beside her aside, and then lifted her arm with even more delicacy. “I know, it hurts, Rose, but I need to clean it.”    
  
Rose had never felt so trapped in her life, as he rested her arm on his thigh and began undoing the straps. The fear made her arm throb even more, and when he began wiping the swollen, bruised, and stitched skin clean, she felt tears sting her eyes. “Rose, is it too much? You can tell me, okay. I’ll stop.” She couldn’t tell him. He wouldn’t listen, Nobody ever listened. She bit her lip, trying not to imagine what he had planned for her when she wasn’t so severely wounded. She just used her good hand to tighten the robe around her body. His eyes followed the movement, furrowing with confusion, but then he gasped. “Oh, Rose, no, no, no, no.” He held her eyes, frowning like she’d slapped him. “I would never hurt you, in any way. I swear to you. You have nothing to fear from me except mediocre meals and talking your ear off.”    
  
Rose swallowed again, too cautious to believe his words. How could she trust him? He was one of them. It was only a matter of time until he either turned her over or said she had to work off her debt for tending to her. “I’m not an evil man, Rose Tyler.” The cloth resumed it’s tender wipes. “Or a cruel one. I’ve never experimented on anyone, and I never will. Jack Harkness intentionally started those rumors because I don’t like people bothering me, and I asked him to come up with something.”    
  
Captain Jack, from the royal guard in the village? Rose had heard him saying the rumors, and that’s why she believed them. If he didn’t like people bothering him, why was he being so talkative and The Doctor set the rag aside. “I just want you to get better, to get some healthy weight on your bones, and then you’ll be off.” Right back to the O’Brien’s probably, or somewhere worse if they sold her debt. Her eyes went down to where he was gently touching the swelling of her arm.    
  
Her bracelet was gone, the one that marked her indenture. She looked at her left one, finding it bare as well. She touched her neck, expecting a collar, but it was bare, as were her ankles. “Gone.” She gasped the word, and the Doctor jerked his face up in surprise.    
  
“What?” He saw her hands, the way her eyes were staring at her wrist, and Rose didn’t know how to describe the next words that rolled off his tongue. “Your identification bracelet? Yeah, I chunked that in the rubbish.” His lips pulled up into a smile. “You’ll never be a servant to anyone again. Rose Tyler, as Lord of the Rift Mountains, I’m declaring you a free woman.” He slowly began buckling her brace. “And I’m never letting that witch Cassandra get her hands on you again.” With that, he lowered her hand back to her lap.    
  
Rose couldn’t stay silent anymore. She couldn’t sit here and listen to his false words. “Liar.” She hissed, and then she braced herself for a slap.    
  



	5. Chapter 5

There was a slight venom in Rose’s accusation, in the raspy voice that was surprisingly sweet anyways. Those lovely eyes were narrowed in distrust, but John couldn’t blame her. Judging by the way she kept calling for her mum and dad when she slept, she must have been taken from them at a very young age. “I’m not lying.” He sighed, shifting a bit more away to give her room to breathe. “You don’t trust me, and I get it. Hell, I don’t trust most of the other nobles either, but you can trust me.” He paused, unsure of whether to share with too much of his own past so soon. “I wasn’t born noble. I got the title because of the inventions I create, and because nobody else wanted this mountain or forest.” Rose was still regarding him with trepidation. “I could have left you to die, or sent a raven down to the village to let them know I had you as soon as the storm ended. I didn’t.”    
  
Rose’s lips twitched a bit, something between a scowl and a frown. She had rather full lips, so it was pronounced, and her dazzling honey eyes flickered between his. Yet, she wasn’t speaking again. That confused him. Obviously she knew how and could, but she was choosing to remain silent. Why? What was the reasoning? Had she been beaten into mutism or was she staying quiet by choice. “I’m not holding you prisoner, and you’re free to leave now if you want.” Truth be told, if she did, she wouldn’t make it down the mountain. She’d probably collapse before she even made it out of the doors. If that’s what she wanted, John wouldn’t stop her. “I don’t have any women’s clothes, but you can take some of mine. Take my horse.” He waited for her to do or say something, but honestly he wanted her to stay until she was at least fit to travel.    
  
Rose stopped glaring, but she didn’t speak. She relaxed her posture and looked down at her lap. “Tardis?” She murmured the single word, and John understood what she wanted. Tardis had saved her life in the forest, wasn’t a human, and was in a complicated way a female.    
  
“She’ll be back shortly.” John knew the shewolf was out patrolling the grounds, but wouldn’t be gone long. The silence between them was thick, but at the same time fragile. He had to do something to help put her at ease. “Tell you what, why don’t you rest here or in the bed, and I’ll go work on the new braces. Shouldn’t take me more than an hour or so, and then I’ll run you a warm bath.” He pushed himself to his feet, looking down at the pretty blonde woman who looked so lost and confused.    
  
Wait, lovely voice, dazzling eyes, pretty woman? John had to mentally shake himself as his errant thoughts caught up with his comprehension. Those were not appropriate thoughts to be having in this situation, or any situation when it came to him. Rose would be gone in a few short weeks, or longer if the snows got bad, but she wouldn’t be staying. He needed to rectify that situation immediately. “Then after your bath, I’ll see about getting your own room ready for you.”   
  
Rose looked up at him again, her face the picture of uncertainty and hesitation. She had obviously reverted back into her silence completely, because all she did was look away from him to the bed. “Oh, right.” John leaned down to lift her gently into his arms. Rose hissed in obvious pain, but she didn’t protest, and he carried her to the bed to ease her down. Then he went back to the table to get the pillow her leg was on. “Need to keep this elevated since you don’t have the brace on, to keep the swelling down.” Carefully, John lifted her leg and put it back down, and then he covered her up. “If you need anything, just shout.”    
  
Rose didn’t give confirmation. She just regarded him with equal parts curiosity and doubt. John was reminded vividly of Tardis when he’d first got her to the castle. He gathered up the tray, offered her what he hoped was a comforting smile, and then hurried from the room. It was an odd feeling for him, since he always tried to keep people away, to isolate himself, wanting Rose to talk. He wanted to know what was going through her mind.   
  
Then again, maybe her talking was a dangerous idea. That ran the risk of liking her company, of maybe even becoming her friend. John didn’t allow himself attachments like that anymore, except with Tardis. He didn’t want to run the risks, of becoming responsible for her. The last time he had, it had gone so wrong. There had been so much fire, so many bodies. The thunder and waves echoed around the kitchen. “No!” John dropped the tray on the floor, clutching at his hair as the angry waves and lightning crashed. He shoved the thoughts aside. He couldn’t let himself be pulled into the memories, not now.    
  
Scooping the tray and bowls up, he threw them onto a counter and grabbed a towel. His hands shook as he cleaned up the spilled stew, and then he retreated to one of his labs. He needed to make the braces for Rose, to get her better, so she could leave. She didn’t want to be there, and he couldn’t have her there longer than necessary. She would end up hurt by something, and it would be his fault. He couldn’t allow that, couldn’t allow himself to become attached.    
  
Rose stared around the room, still bewildered by what was happening. Was he being serious? How could a man she’d heard such stories about, a Lord no less, actually want her to be free and offer her the ability to leave? He could keep her here, and nobody would be wiser. She knew these things, understood that is what the O’Briens would have done. Was that his true plan?    
  
The echoing thump and grinding of gears drew her attention to the door, and Tardis was loping into the room. She came to the bed, tilting her head as Rose looked at her. That was another thing. How could an auton be a she? Where had she come from? Had he bought her, built her, stolen her? Why was was she so lifelike? “What are you?” She could talk to Tardis, just like she could talk to the animals at the estate. Animals listened, didn’t see her as anything other than a normal human.    
  
Tardis nudged her hand and blew a puff of steam over her face. “He scares me. What is he planning?” Rose stroked the cool metal muzzle like she would any affectionate animal. “I want to leave, but I can’t, and I have nowhere to go.” She really wanted to find her mum, if she was alive. “Why did you save me? Why did you bring me to him? Don’t you understand what he could do to me?”    
  
Tardis plunked her rear on the floor and flicked her ears. “‘M not sure whether I can believe him. Good things don’ happen like this in real life.” She sighed, still feeling very much trapped. She couldn’t run, and even if she did, he or Tardis would find her.  Why hadn’t she just stayed at the estate? She only had a few more years to work there. At least there she knew what the truth was, where her value lie. Now she couldn’t even go back there, or she would be blamed for that guard’s death. “What do I do?” Tears were stinging her eyes, and Tardis gave a low whine.    
  
There was a numb sense of hopelessness in her gut, and it made her whole body feel abandoned. The Doctor couldn’t be telling her the truth, because it didn’t make sense. She thought about Mickey and Bill, wondering how badly they’d been beaten. They wouldn’t be killed, because then the money would never be worked off. She couldn’t blame them for her predicament, because they cared about her, didn’t want to leave her behind. “I just want to find my mum, and be free again.” Letting the tears fall, she closed her eyes.    
  
When she woke up again, it was to the Doctor touching her shoulder gently. “Rose, I have the new braces, and, um, I also made you a crutch, so you can get around on your own.” She blinked up at him, taking in how his hair was now a total mess, his arms were full,and he had some dirt on his cheek. She pushed herself up with her good arm, made sure the robe was tucked around her, then peeled back the blankets. “Um I thought you might want a bath first, and some clean clothes.”    
  
Rose cocked an eyebrow at him, wondering why he would have women’s clothes if he was alone in the castle. She wouldn’t be opposed to a warm bath though. She hadn’t had a full one in a month, just quick washes. Tardis’ metal body creaked as she raised herself up from the floor to huff in excitement at his appearance. She decided to go with the possibility that he built her, instead of stole or bought.    
  
The Doctor set the braces down on the bed and extended a hand to help her up. Rose was feeling a bit less weak, but not much. “Here, just, I’m going to hold your waist while you get stable.” She managed not to recoil as he looped an arm around her, and propped the crutch under her arm. “Good, it’s the perfect height. I didn’t get to measure, so I sort of guessed.” She managed to find her balance, and though her leg hurt, she could manage to stay upright. “While you’re in the tub, I’m gonna track down some extra sheets and blankets. I only have one other room with a bed.”    
  
Rose followed him, as he led the way back into the ensuite, and she watched in curiosity as he took a giant cork with a ring in it and stuck it into the tub. Then he turned some knobs which allowed water to begin flowing. “Could you test the water and tell me if it’s too hot or cold.” She hobbled over, keeping a wary eye on him, and stuck her hand where the two streams of water met. It wasn’t too hot, just enough to feel wonderful on her skin. She wondered how he managed to do it, until she saw the pipe with the hot ran to the tank that had coal in it. “Good?” She nodded, but wondered how she was going to get in.    
  
The Doctor was opening cabinets, pulling out some towels, a clean cloth, and a bottle. “I don’t have any women’s clothes, but some of my trousers should fit you. They’ll be a bit long, but I can hem them if needed. The shirts should too.” Rose wondered where her own dresses were, not that they would do much good to keep her warm outside of the room. The tub was filling up pretty quickly, and Rose wasn’t sure exactly what to do. She couldn’t lift her injured leg, or use both hands to support herself. “Let’s take that brace off your arm, Rose, but you have to keep it very still.”   
  
She held very still as the Doctor rolled the robe sleeve up and took her brace off with surprising gentleness. It hurt, but not as excruciatingly as before. The missing weight eased it quiet a bit. “There, now let me turn off the faucet.” He set the brace on the counter and turned off the water. “I’ll step out, you just relax.” He headed back towards the door, and Rose was still feeling horribly hopeless as she tried to figure out what to do.    
  
“Help, please.” She looked over her shoulder at him, and the Doctor spun. He slapped himself on the forehead and hurried back to her side.    
  
“I’m such an idiot sometimes. Sorry, Rose, I wasn’t thinking.” He gave her an apologetic grimace. “I’ll um, just close my eyes and then help you in.”    
  
Rose waited until he had indeed closed his eyes before easing the robe off. Then touched the crutch to him, and after he set it aside blindly, he fumbled for her waist and lifted her up with seemingly no effort to ease her into the water. It felt amazing on her aching body, though her open stitched up wounds stung. “Okay, well, um, I’ll be back in a bit.” The door was closing by the time Rose looked up.    
  
There had to be some ulterior motive behind all of this. Someone of his stature didn’t dish out kindness or charity for no reason, the Doctor had to be angling for something, anything to give him power or control. Rose just had to figure it out, and she didn’t even know where to begin. All she knew was that she couldn’t let him know she was trying to figure it out. With those thoughts, she went to work awkwardly washing herself clean.    
  
John stood in front of the closet. He didn’t have as exquisite an array of clothes as he had when he lived and worked in the Capitol. Those were the threads of someone with foolish ego and no regard for the possibility of failure. There were about twenty outfits though, and he tried to find a few that would suit Rose’s malnourished frame. He was a thin man himself, but Rose was definitely thinner at the present. Hopefully if he kept feeding her well, she’d blossom into a more natural body. “What do you think, girl?” He asked Tardis, who looked up at him.    
  
Obviously she didn’t know either, so John pulled out a couple pairs of her trousers, a handful of long sleeved shirts to keep her warm, and one of his coats. He laid them on the bed, before heading to the room that only had boxes of spare parts and a bed. Looking around at it, at the empty hearth, the curtain-less windows, he sighed. “This won’t due. I can’t have her thinking I’m sticking her in with the rubbish.” Turning on his heel, he went into the hallway and tracked down one of the carts he used to move heavy loads.    
  
There was no way the room would be totally cleared out and suitable for her by night, but it was a start. Honestly John didn’t mind sleeping on the floor or sofa. He’d spent plenty of nights passed out in his lab, but since Rose seemed uncomfortable and overwhelmed, perhaps a space of her own would help. She’d probably independently mobile in the next few days, which would give him time to throw up some curtains, get some oil lamps and such in the room, as well as track down other necessities for her to be comfortable.    
  
“At least she asked for help.” He mused as he loaded up some of the boxes. The room was freezing, and it made his breath puff out. “Two whole words. That’s something.” He pushed the cart to the next room and began unloading it. John knew talking to himself was one of the things that made people think he was crazy, but it helped him think. “She’s clever, that’s easy enough to tell. Dunno why she keeps playing the simple minded card.” Huffing, he headed back to the room. “Could be she was punished for talking, thinks I’ll do the same.”    
  
He lifted another box up, shaking his head. “How do I get her to trust me though? I’ve treated her well, kept her warm and comfortable. I can’t get through to her if she doesn’t let me.” He looked down at the cart, and an Idea struck him. “What if I give her a tour? Show her where things are, give her full access to the castle once she’s mobile? She can use Tardis’ lifts, so she doesn’t have to use he stairs!” It was a brilliant idea if he said so himself.    
  
That seemed a more pressing matter than getting her room fixed, so he dropped the other crates off and headed back to his room with the cart. Once there, he grabbed some of the pillows and made a sort of seat and set it aside. “Rose, are you nearly done?” He knocked on the door, waiting for her response.    
  
“Yes.” It was the loudest she’d spoken so far, and he smiled as his thoughts that she was intentionally staying quiet were confirmed. “Help please.” John closed his eyes and opened the door. It was a good thing he knew his way around the room, so he was able to find the towel and toss it over his shoulder. Then he held out his hand. Rose grasped it with slick fingers, and he pulled her up to wrap his arms and the towel around her.    
  
“I don’t want you to slip, so I’m going to carry you, okay. Make sure you’re covered.” It was a bit awkward trying to bed and lift her without jarring her arm and leg, but she only whimpered a bit. Then he opened his eyes. Her face was extremely close to his, so all he saw at first were those stunning orbs of amber. “How would you like to get out of the bed and see the castle?” He queried as they walked.    
  
Rose tilted her head, as if reading his face. The analytical look on her features made her lower lip stick at some, and John was a bit stunned as he realized just how beautiful she was. No, he couldn’t think like that. “You’ll be mobile in a day or two, and you should know your way around.” He set her gently on the bed, stepping away and turning so she could dry off with some privacy. “Those clothes there are all yours, but I’ll bring blankets to keep you warm. I want you to know that you can go anywhere you want, but honestly there isn’t much to see besides my room, the kitchen, and the library.”    
  
Rose didn’t answer, but after a few moments she cleared her throat and he chanced turning. She was drowning in his shirt, and had rolled the leg of one trouser up to expose her bad leg. The brace was in her hand, and she looked a bit frustrated. “Rose, you could have asked me to help.” He sighed, kneeling down to take it and begin wrapping her leg. Her swallow was audible and subsequent tense made him look up. She looked like a woman prepared to be struck. “No, I’m not angry. I’d never hit you!” He buckled the last strap and watched as she gave an experimental lift. The relief was obvious on her face, and he smiled. Then he perched next to her on the bed to take her arm as gently as possible.    
  
“I know the O’briens were probably cruel to you, one of the reasons I can’t stand them, but honestly, I’m not.” He began carefully buckling her arm in, and he could feel her eyes burning into his face. “I want to help you get well. Consider yourself my guest. Everything in my home is yours to use, but don’t go into my labs without me.” He stood up, offering her his most welcoming smile. “Now, would you like a tour?”    
  
Rose stared up at the Doctor. His guest, that was ridiculous. She was a peasant, and he was a Lord. How could he see her as a guest? How could he dress her in his clothes? How could he talk to her like she was his equal? She was tired of being confined to bed, and she couldn’t deny she was curious to see around the castle, to see if they were alone, but how? He couldn’t carry her the whole way, and she was too injured to hobble along.    
  
To her surprise, he pulled a cart covered in pillows from the other side of the bed and gave a flourished bow. “Your chariot, my lady.” The Doctor beamed as he righted himself, and Rose was hesitant. Tardis jumped up from the floor with an eager chuff, dashing to the door. “Shall we?” One of those elegant hands extended, and she wondered if she could say no. “Or not, if you’re tired. I just thought maybe you’d want to do something besides lay in bed.” The dazzling smile faded slowly, and Rose realized she had hurt his feelings.    
  
The Doctor could have his feelings hurt, by her? That didn’t seem plausible, but it was obvious on his features. Rose steeled herself, and then slowly extended her good hand. Before she could blink, she was nestled onto the pillows, and the Doctor was covering her with the thick blanket from the bed. “Off we go then.” And Rose found herself being wheeled into a massive hallway.    
  



	6. Chapter 6

“This will be your room, when it’s cleaned out.” Rose looked around the crate filled room. It was only two doors down from the Doctor’s. There was a bare four poster bed as large as his. Other than that, the only contents were the boxes over flowing with metal scraps. “Like I said, I don’t have anyone else here. I should have it cleared out by tomorrow. I have some curtains somewhere, I think, and I’ll hang them up.” She turned her head to look back up at him. He was still smiling, like this was the most exciting thing he’d done in ages.    
  
Maybe the rumors about him experimenting on people were false, she wasn’t sure yet, but the man was definitely walking the edge of insanity. He pulled the cart out smoothly, and started back down the hall. “Basically all the rooms on this floor are full of spare parts and such.” Why? Why would he need rooms full of spare parts, and why would he need labs? He must have seen the question in her eyes before she looked back ahead, because he added. “I’m the royal inventor. Dunno if Jack included that in his stories, but that’s what I do. That’s how I got my Lordship.”    
  
He had reached some strange, metal, two walled caged and wheeled her in. “This is a lift. As long as the clock tower is working, these function to. Watch.” The Doctor grabbed a lever on one side that was covered in some sort of grip and had a chain and wires attached to it. “Push it to the left to go down.” He did so as he spoke, and the lift began descending. It shook and they began to slowly go down. Rose was absolutely shocked. How was this thing working? “Raise it up to stop at where you want.” They passed another floor, and Rose watched as the Doctor began pulling the lever back up center. By the time the lift shuddered to a stop, the metal floor was level with a stone one. “Right will take you up.”    
  
Tardis bounded out with a whirring yip and disappeared. “Gone to refuel, and speaking of.” The Doctor wheeled the cart out, and began walking through a sunlit foyer. The heavy wooden doors of the castle were in front of her, but a square, wooden flap just bigger than Tardis slammed shut, sending a frigid gust towards them. Rose tightened the blanket around her. “That’s how she gets in and out.” That made sense. Obviously the wolf, mechanical or not, couldn’t get the main doors open. “Now down this way is the kitchens.” He pushed the cart past some beautiful stained glass windows that were covered in frost and snow, until he reached a set of doors that were propped open.    
  
Beyond them was a massive kitchen that was completely empty. She had suspected, despite his repeated statements, to see at least one or two servants. “This cabinet.” The Doctor had moved to a metal cabinet with a handle that was making a weird noise. “Is where I keep foods that would spoil if left out. It keeps them very cold. I can explain it, if you want, but not right now.” He opened the door to reveal meat, vegetables, and a few bowls. “I have some left over stew in here. Just add it to the pot on the stove and heat it up.” He shut the door, and Rose wasn’t sure how to respond. Another gust of cold air came from the cabinet, and she realized he was right. “I’ll be cooking for you for now, because you don’t need to be doing anything but resting. When you get well, you’re free to make whatever you like for yourself.”    
  
She’d been resting, for three days. That was more than she’d ever been allowed before. Cooking for herself was such a foreign concept. Did that mean he’d expect her to cook for him too? Was he lying about freeing her? Did he plan on keeping her here? “I cook my own meals, so don’t worry about that.” Honestly, sometimes it was like he could read her thoughts. Could he? “Now, that door leads out to the gardens and stable. Snows a bit too deep to take you out now, but maybe after I get the paths cleared you can see outside.”    
  
They were moving again, out to the foyer, past the lift, and down a massive hall. The tick, tock of a clock became audible, and it grew louder, companied by the sound of autons clanking and gears turning. Rose gasped as they came to a wall that had once held doors, but was now just an archway. “This is the clock tower entrance. Be very careful in here. The autons aren’t sentient like Tardis.” Sentient? She didn’t know what that meant, but she saw them working.    
  
About seven or eight autons were shoveling coal into a massive furnace. At the top of it was a glass bulb the size of the small servants shack. It was filled with bubbling water, and there where numerous pipes coming out of the top. The pipes were connected to strange metal cogs that were turning. More autons were on the next level, shoveling coal down to the first landing. Above them, completely covering the walls, were strange fixtures with cylindrical tubes that had lightning inside and humming metal coils. The gears were turning around the coils, and from the cylindrical bulbs were wires like an auton or steam carriage would have. What was this contraption? How did it work? What was its purpose? “My labs, the library, the walls around the castle, the stables, and the kitchen all have electric lighting. This powers it all. Don’t touch anything above the second floor in here, or it’ll be like getting hit with lightning.”    
  
Rose had no intentions of touching anything. If she wanted to die, she’d throw herself out of the windows or run away into the frozen forest. So she nodded, as he pulled the cart out and headed to the lift thing again. “I can probably wire your room up to, if you want. It’s brighter than any candle, torch, or oil lamp come nightfalls.” She wouldn’t ask for that, because if he was being truthful, Rose wanted to be gone once she could ride. The lift moved up, and as they approached the fourth floor, it slowed to a stop. “Down here is my second favorite place in the castle.”    
  
Rose rolled past more stunning windows until the Doctor stopped to push up a set of massive wooden doors craved like a tree. The sunlight poured into the room, but before Rose could take it all it, he flipped a lever on the wall, and lights began flickering to life all around. They illuminated even the furthest corners from the windows, and as he pushed her in further, she had to gasp.    
  
She was in a library, one that stretched out into a circular shape as large as the O’brien’s stables and stretched up at least three more floors. Tables, chairs, and fluffy cushions were scattered around. There was an empty fireplace on one wall, but what took her breath away were the books. The walls were covered from floor to ceiling, and more shelves were scattered around. “I love books of any kind.” The Doctor sighed a bit like a lover would. “If I’m not in my labs or fixing something in the castle, I’m probably in here.”    
  
Rose felt a new emotion for the crazy man escorting her around, and it was envy. He could read when he pleased. He had an entire tower of books, of stories, adventures that she could never enjoy. “Now, next stop is my labs, and then I’ll take you back down to take your medicine and sanitize your sutures.” She sighed to herself as he flipped the switch and carted her back into the hall. She had fleetingly hoped he’d give her permission to take some books, but of course not. Servants didn’t need to read.    
  
The lift went up two more floors, and Rose found herself on a landing that ran the circumference of the castle. “This is my auton development room.” He opened a door to reveal a massive room lined with half assembled autons from human shaped to animals. “Don’t use it as much as I used to, but that’s fine.” Rose wasn’t all that impressed, to be honest, because she understood that autons were basically just steam and metal. The next door opened, revealing a tower that was covered in coils and strange metal shapes and tables. “Where I work on things meant for houses and castles, like the hot water heater and toilet.” There was a weapons development lab that looked like it hadn’t been touched in months, which he closed with a look of disgust, a lab for developing engines and generators, one for toys, and finally a room that had tables with papers strewn around and little metal models all over. “My planning room. This is where I draw out the inventions and make scale models before actually developing them.”    
  
Rose wasn’t sure what to say. All of these labs, these inventions, and not a single trace of dismembered humans, torture equipment, or blood anywhere. Maybe he didn’t experiment on people. She had half expected this to be where she was chained up and taken apart, but the Doctor was rolling her back to the lift. “That’s pretty much all there is to see, Rose Tyler, but feel free to look around and explore once you’re mobile. Just don’t touch any wires, because it could kill you. That’s pretty much the only rule, well that and don’t block Tardis’ door.”    
  
Those were the only rules? That wasn’t possible. What about curfews or off limit rooms or things like that? “Until you’re ready to leave, my home is your home.” The Doctor  pushed her out onto the bedroom floor again, and Rose was trying to wrap her mind around it all. Even if he wasn’t born a noble, the Doctor was one now. He was the royal inventor. That meant everything he did, everything he invented, was crucial to the development of the kingdom.   
  
He definitely had more authority than the O’Briens. All they did was oversee the smaller banks and grow fruit for wine. Although, if Prince Rory was foolish enough to marry Reinette, then they’d be royal by marriage. She let the Doctor help her onto the sofa, which was much easier since these braces were no more heavier than a plaster cast. “Now, let’s get these off so I can make sure your wounds don’t fester. Amputation would not be fun, and it would be a shame for such a lovely flower to be missing a petal.”    
  
Rose sucked in a breath at the words, even as the Doctor’s cheeks flushed pink, and he avoided her eyes to undo the buckles. Nobody had ever called her lovely before. She didn’t know how to take it. Some part of her worried that some of her suspicions had been correct, that perhaps he was just getting her to trust him, but then he rambled on as he began wiping her skin with the stinging liquid again. “They seem to be healing as expected, but the swelling isn’t going down. I should get some ice from outside to put on this leg.”    
  
Rose was a bit thankful he wasn’t looking at her, because she couldn’t look at him. That trapped feeling was returning again, as her mind began wandering down paths of terrifying thoughts. She wouldn’t eat or drink anything else unless he did first, because the last thing she wanted was to wake up even more broken. Then again, she couldn’t exactly fight him awake either. Why did her first compliment in her life have to come from a man rumored to enjoy torture? Even as he tended her arm, rambling on about why icing the injuries down would reduce swelling better than a cold compress, she could only stare at the fire. Who was being honest, him or Captain Jack?”    
  
John could kick himself. Like always, his stupid brain worked faster than his mouth. Throughout the tour, Rose had been actively listening to him, more relaxed than he’d seen so far, and even had almost smiled at the library. Now she was tense, ignoring him, and staring away. Why had he gone and called her lovely, talked about amputation, made a fool of himself? It was so visible in her features that Rose hated nobles, now he’d gone and made her even more uncomfortable than before.   
  
What was he thinking? John wasn’t allowed to think like that. He had to be alone, to pay for what he had caused to happen. The universe had punished him for his pride, his ego, and now he had to atone for the losses involved. He hadn’t been thinking, that was the thing, except about how her eyes lit up when she saw something he had invented that took her by surprise. “I’ll just go get some ice now.” He tossed the rag aside before buckling her arm back in, then jumped up to grab his cloak.    
  
“Idiot.” He chastised himself as he raced down the stairs to the kitchen to get a water skin. The snow had stopped falling, as he trudged outside to break icicles off the window sill. “I get her to relax, then bugger it up like always. All she wants is to leave, and that’s what I’m going to do.” He began shoving the pieces into the bag, and then scooped snow into it to fill it the rest of the way. “There’s no telling what she’s been through besides beating and being half starved. The last thing she needs is some crazy man flirting with her.”    
  
John slapped himself in the cheek as he headed back in, shivering as the wind briefly followed him in the door. “Don’t let yourself get caught up, John.” He hissed, as he paused to grab the two bowls of soup from the chiller and dump them into a pot. He’d warm it up upstairs. Tossing the makeshift icepack onto a tray, he added two more bowls, two spoons, and a ladle. Then he looped the pot handle over his arm and headed for the stairs.    
  
Rose was sitting exactly where she had been, but was now staring down at her braced arm, running her other fingers along the buckles. “‘Ve got the ice, and some lunch.” She jerked her head up, those piercing eyes watching him with a suspicious fear. Again he wished she would talk, say something. Years of silence and isolation hadn’t phased him, but this time the lack of conversation was unpleasant. “Let me just set this here.” He put the tray down before lifting the water skin.    
  
John almost put it against her bare skin, but then caught himself. He grabbed the rag to drape over the stitches and then set the cold leather on it. Rose didn’t make a sound, just pressed her lips tight and stared at him much as Tardis had when he had found her. “The stew needs to warm again.” He hung the pot onto the rod usually reserved for his kettle and swung it over the fire. Then he added another log. Carefully, he made his way back to the sofa, sitting down and grabbing a book.   
  
Rose obviously didn’t want him chattering on at her, so he’d have to keep the questions hurtling through his mind to himself. How old had she been when she had been taken from her parents? Were they serving indentures somewhere else? Were they even alive? John knew Rose wouldn’t answer, so he just tried to focus on the page. Still, he couldn’t stop himself from glancing at her. She was staring at the book in his hands with a look he hadn’t seen on her. It was unmistakably longing. “Would you like to read while we wait?” He scooped up another book from beside him, not looking down at the title.    
  
Rose turned her shock and confusion drenched eyes on him, and John wondered if he had somehow offended her. Gods he was a moron. Maybe she couldn’t read at all. “Readin’s allowed?” Her voice was breathless, and her left hand trembled as she reached out slowly.    
  
“Reading is definitely allowed.” John couldn’t stop his smile as Rose half yanked the book from his band and opened the pages. She obviously could read, but not very well. She’d only traced two lines with her finger, before sighing and drawing it along a word. He leaved over, realizing he had given her a book about a pirate captain and saw the word she was touching. “Nautical.” He offered the pronunciation.    
  
“Nautical.” Rose looked confused by the word, but that’s all she said. He went back to his own reading on indoor gardening. After a few more moments of silence, she gave a heavy sigh, and John saw her soundlessly repeating a word. Her eyes were narrowed in frustration, and he realized his thoughts about her ability to read were half true.    
  
“Maelstrom.” John said softly, as Rose turned her head to stare at him, and he could see shame in her eyes at not knowing how to pronounce it. That wouldn’t do. Obviously someone had taught her rhe basics, the love for the written word. But they hadn’t gotten her too far. A free woman should be able to read and write. “When’s the last time you read something?” He tried to keep his voice friendly. She only waved her hand out as if saying she didn’t know. “Would you like me to teach you?”    
  
Rose’s jaw dropped open wide, and John was stunned to see that something so simple had gotten such a large reaction from her. “Please, mi’lord.” She replied softly, looking back down at the pages.    
  
“Call me John.” He tossed his book aside to scoot closer to her. Rose didn’t tense up for once, and that pleased him beyond explanation. “Now, I need to know how much you already know. Could you read aloud for me, just this paragraph here.”    
  
“E-even though he had been born to the sea, no nautical man would have been ready for the maelstrom the crew of the Black Maiden found themselves in.” Rose’s eyes met his for a flicker. Her voice was hesitant, nervous, but pleasant all the same. John nodded to her, and she continued. “That didn’ stop Captain Di..Dia-“    
  
“Diamond.” John offered gently. “The a is silent.” Rose’s ears turned a bit pink, as did her cheeks, and he had to shake himself mentally to not stare.    
  
“Diamondheart from pushing them on.” Rose’s entire face softened, and John realized he had found it, a way to get her to trust him. Who knew his life long obsession with books would come to use this way?


	7. Chapter 7

John couldn’t keep away from his labs. He had to work, of course, and since Rose had been able to walk for the last four days, he found it easier to retreat upstairs. It was safest for him there, because the more time he spent around her, the more he had to remind himself why he kept away from people. Even though they never talked about anything besides tending to her injuries, when food was ready, or when she would ask about a word, he found he enjoyed her company. Perhaps he enjoyed it more than he should.    
  
He had been right about her being clever. She was only on the literacy level of about a ten year old merchant’s child, but she adept at math. John had learned that, accidentally, when he found her scratching some numbers, all be it sloppily with her left hand, on the back side of a page he had written down key grammar instructions on. When he’d asked what they were, she’d flipped it over and picked up a book.   
  
Maybe it was a good thing they didn’t talk about anything else. Perhaps the simple, please, thank you, help, and allow two to three word sentences were best. Although, he did wish she’d call him John. Rose only ever called him mi’lord, despite the thirty three times he’d asked her to use his name. She had gained a little weight too, not much, but enough that her cheeks were filling out and her eyes didn’t look so sunken into her face. At dinner last night, she’d managed to eat an entire chicken leg, all of her vegetables, and a whole goblet of wine. It had been his second proudest moment in almost ten years, the first being saving Tardis.    
  
Speaking of the blue wolf, John couldn’t help but be a little jealous that she was so attached to Rose. His friend used to be his only companion, but now she spent more time with Rose than him. Although it did confirm his opinion that Rose was a good person. Tardis wouldn’t be with her if she wasn’t, and he still hadn’t learned how the two had crossed paths in the first place. He doubted he ever would know. That was what he contemplated as he made his way down from his lab.    
  
Rose couldn’t get her braces off one handed, so he was still cleaning her wounds three times a day for her. John knew where he’d find her this late in the morning, and sure enough, she was on the floor of the library, leaning against Tardis, with a book in her hand. To his surprise though, she was talking. “Tha’s the thing, girl. Dunno if my mum is even alive. I dunno where ta even begin lookin’. She has ta be still workin’ dad’s taxes off, if she is alive. ‘S been twelve years. Can’ even remember wha’ she looks like, ‘cept in the dreams.”    
  
Twelve years? Rose had been an indentured servant for twelve years? What kind of monster forced a child to work off their parents’ debts? The O’briens, of course. John knew it was rude to eavesdrop, that if she’d wanted him to know things about her, she’d tell him. His tiny jealousy over their bond dissipated, and he pushed the library door open further as if he’d just arrived. “Rose, there you are!”    
  
Both girls turned to face him, and Rose just inclined her head. Tardis’ tail clanged against the floor. At least Rose didn’t look at him like she was afraid of being tortured anymore. That was a plus. She didn’t smile, though, at least not in front of him. What she did do was hold up the book and point at the page. He had to chuckle as he hurried over to crouch down and read. “Empyrean, it means the highest point in the heavens. Where people say the gods reside.” John explained the word, and then he had to blink at the book. It was one about astronomy. Scattered around her on the floor were half a dozen books ranging from fiction to religious texts to science. “Are you reading all of these?” Some were open, others had ripped parchment marking places.    
  
Rose’s cheeks flushed as she bit her lip and nodded. John scooped up the book farthest from her, finding it was a volume of old legends. She had marked a page about a man bartering with a god for his lover’s soul, and the next book on the floor was one about that particular god. The marked section there led to a history book, which was marked at a page on scientific discovery, which led to a book marked on an astronomy section. It took him a minute to realize she hadn’t understood something in the very first one, which led to her all out search for an explanation. Rose closed the book in her hand, plucked up the volume of legends with a set jaw, and reopened to her spot. “It would have been easier to come ask me, but honestly this is impressive. Now, come sit on up here so I can tend your leg and arm.”    
  
Rose closed the book with a reluctant sigh, and leaned into him as the Doctor lifted her up slowly. It must be noon or so, because over the last few days, this had become routine. He woke her with breakfast every morning, tended her wounds, adjusted her braces, and then vanished to his labs. At noon he’d reappear, clean them again, help her with whatever words she couldn’t pronounce or understand, then bring up some lunch, before disappearing into the labs. At sunset, they’d go to his room, where she was always given the first choice to soak in his tub, eat dinner, tend her wounds, then read. After that, he would fill her fire with wood and help her into bed. He wanted to put lights in her room, and set up her washing chamber like his, but Rose found it pointless since she’d be gone soon.   
  
He promised her he had something called a dictionary somewhere in the library, but couldn’t remember where. Rose was eager for him to find it, so she could stop asking him for explanation. She didn’t know how much tutors would charge, but for every time he helped her, she tallied what seemed like a reasonable fee. She wanted to add on the food and medicine, but he had said over and over that she was his guest, and hosts gave those things freely. Some day, when she had a real job that paid, Rose would come back and compensate him for his teaching.    
  
“Good, the ends are starting to mend together.” The Doctor, she couldn’t think of him as John, because he was so far above her to use his name, flashed her a dazzling smile from where he was kneeling beside her leg. He had produced a bottle of the cleansing tonic and a rag from a pocket, and it barely stung when he wiped the space between the sutures. “And the swelling is really going down. How’s the pain? Is it still hurting when you are still?” Rose shook her head. It only hurt first thing in the morning when she was still, and the rest of the time only when she was limping around or moved it. “Brilliant!”    
  
Rose felt her cheeks flush as he ran his fingers gently along her calf, those sweet, brown eyes flicking up to her face as he gave a happy hum. She had never found a man attractive before, but the longer she spent with him, the more she rather liked the way he moved his eyebrows, how he smiled every time he looked at her, the way his lip pouted out a bit when he was focused, the dusting of freckles just under his eyes, and how every now and then he’d slip up and call her lovely.    
  
She knew it was a foolish emotion, because she was a peasant and he was a Lord. Besides, it was probably just his way of talking. He called Tardis beautiful and love all the time. “Arm please, my Lady.” Rose knew he didn’t mean anything by that, was just trying to cheer her up and distract her. She surrendered her arm to him, watching as he cleaned that wound, before bracing it again. Her arm still hurt, but it was broken so not much could be done. “This one is healing brilliantly too. The break will take another month to mend.”    
  
His touches were always so delicate that Rose felt little to no pain, even as he encased her arm in the brace again to buckle the straps. “I made some bread last night, couldn’t sleep, would you like some with bacon and tomato?” She was feeling hungry, which was something she noticed now that she was actually eating full meals. Rose nodded, earning her a small chuckle and a toothy grin. She was glad the Doctor had stopped trying to get her to talk besides reading. “Be right back.” Then he was gone.   
  
Rose still didn’t believe he honestly cared about her past or where she was going. It was trivial compared to his work for the kingdom, and she didn’t want to inconvenience him more than she already was. Tardis was a good listener, though. She liked talking to her, because she could say the truth of everything without fear of punishment. She didn’t know if the Doctor would be okay with her insulting other nobility or the laws, and she didn’t want to risk it.    
  
So Rose opened her book, picking up where she left off. Reading made the days fly by, and she was learning so much. Many of the books were beyond her understanding, but there were plenty that only gave her a little trouble. She was so engrossed in her chapter, that she missed the Doctor returning until he flopped down beside her and passed over a sandwich and set down two goblets of water on the small table. “I need a break from what I’m working on upstairs, so how about I join you for a little reading?”    
  
It was his library. Rose couldn’t exactly say no, but she nodded anyways as she began eating. At least if she had any more questions, she wouldn’t have to drag herself along the shelves to find an answer. The rest of their meal was relatively silent, until Tardis perked her ears up with a scrape, and then loped from the room. The Doctor watched her go, but then shrugged it off. “If we were in danger, she’d have been growling.” He explained, and Rose knew he wasn’t worried. So she wasn’t worried.    
  
Sometimes animals came out of the forest, and Tardis would go out and stalk them. She never caught anything, because the animals could hear her parts moving. It was entertaining to watch though. Rose went back to her book, losing herself in the next story about how the stars were created. The fire was going in the hearth, but the air from the open hall door did cause a bit of a draft. She shivered reflexively, but didn’t look up until the Doctor draped his cloak over her lap. “I love that book. Which story are you on now?”    
  
Rose was feeling a bit warm from his gesture, and she tried to push it aside to tilt the book up where he could see. Then his arm slid around the back of the small couch, brushing her hair, as he shifted closer to look down. “The Lament of Nebula, oh! It’s so sad, but the ending is wonderful.” She hadn’t read more than the first two lines, and him spoiling the emotional background for it made her turn a bit to fix him with an exasperated look. This caused her thigh to brush along his, her braced arm slip onto his lap, and for her nose to come even with his jaw. She hadn’t realized his face was so close, and against her better judgement, her heart did a little skip.    
  
The Doctor’s adams apple bobbed as he swallowed and sucked in a gasp, and his wide, rich eyes were momentarily obscured as his pupils dilated. “I didn’t mean topaz spoil anything.” He sounded a bit breathless, and his hand slid down the book to her arm. Why did he say topaz, and why was he staring at her eyes like that? It made her feel a bit unsteady in a tingly warm way. “Sorry, I meant to say to spoil any lips... anything.”    
  
“Real smooth Doc.” The sound of Captain Harkness’ voice made Rose squeak and drop the book. The Doctor jerked back, and Rose felt fear flood her veins. Jack was here for her. It was over. This couldn’t be happening. The Captains sky colored eyes scanned over her, as he shook his head with a knowing smirk.    
  
Rose couldn’t stop herself. She grabbed onto the Doctor’s shirt with her good arm, leaning up to whisper. “Please, don’t let him take me. I can’t go back.” She could hear the tears in her throat just as heavily as she felt them. The Doctor pried her fingers free, stroking them with his thumb, before standing.    
  
“Jack, I can explain.” His voice sounded as uncertain as she felt. Maybe he couldn’t really free her. Rose felt the weight of her debt throb in the nearly healed aches in her body.    
  
“Well I hope so, because Cassandra was pissed when we found one of her guards with his skull crushed just south of the lake.” Jack rolled his eyes as he came into the room. Rose hadn’t warned the Doctor about that, and she watched as his shoulders slumped. “I mean, I frankly don’t care he’s dead. The guy was a wife abusing dick, but he was Cassandra’s cousin. Should I go with rogue experiment or snow monster?”   
  
“Rogue experiment. Tell the bank to put his salary in her account from mine.” The Doctor offered, and Rose could hear the tension in his voice, see it make his back pull tight under his shirt as he shifted to block her from view. “They should know better though, than to cross my borders.”    
  
“Well, they were after an indentured servant. This pretty little blonde flower.” The Doctor’s fists clenched against his pants, and Rose drew in a breath to steady herself to stand. “She’s nowhere near as pretty as the assistant you’ve finally hired on though, but Tardis or either of you didn’t happen to come across her body after the storm did you?”    
  
“Yes.” Rose was confused by what was occurring. Jack knew who she was, so why was he calling her an assistant? Disappointment filled her as the Doctor confirmed he had found her. After everything he said, he was going to give her up so easily? Lords were all alike, of course. Why should she have expected diff- “I found a woman in the woods near the gate. The servant died though, from the experiment, so ask Lady O’brien how much her debt was and take it out too. I already took the creature apart, and burned the servant’s body.” His words cut her musings off, and Rose gasped as he stepped aside. “Rose, this is Jack Harkness, Captain of the village guard just beyond our borders.”    
  
Rose waved as Jack smiled and dipped his head. “Pleasure, pretty Lady. Anyway, Doc, your supplies are stocked up, and your next shipment should be up at the end of the month. See ya then?”    
  
“Yep.” The Doctor visibly relaxed as Jack gave a flourished bow and a wink before disappearing. Then he sank down beside her. “Remind me to send that man a Yule gift.” He breathed. His eyes fixed on hers, his lips pulling up in a smile. “Nobody is ever taking you anywhere against your will, Rose. I told you. You’re free.” Rose couldn’t stop the utter relief that coursed through her.   
  
“Thank you!” John oofed as Rose threw her arms around his neck. Yes, the brace hurt when it conked his head, but he didn’t care. Rose was talking to him, hugging him, and it shouldn’t have felt as marvelous as it did when he folded his arms around her waist. “I was so scared. I know Jack, saw ‘im in the village. I thought he was gonna take me.” She gave a gentle shake and sniffled. It took him a minute to realize she was crying.    
  
“So did I.” John couldn’t deny it, because he had been about ready to fight the man. He had totally forgotten about the supplies and was sure Jack had come for Rose. He was not going to let that happen. She gave another tremble, and warm tears dripped on his neck. “Hey now, it’s okay.” He pulled her back gently, reaching up to stroke her cheeks dry with his thumbs. Those topaz colored eyes that had left him stuttering earlier were watery as Rose bit that plump lower lip. “I told you. You’re under my protection, whether you want to leave or stay.”   
  
He had to slap himself mentally as he realized he had just offered to let her stay. Why would she want to stay? She wanted to find her family, to have a life. Rose wouldn’t want to stay isolated up here. Besides this was against his rules, a violation of his punishment. John really shouldn’t be pulling her in for another hug, shouldn’t be breathing in the smell of his cologne and soap on her skin. “You deserve nothing but happiness and freedom, Rose.    
  
“I have freedom now, but.” She paused drawing in a deep breath as she pulled back to stare up at him with nervous, hesitant eyes. “My mum doesn’. I dunno if she’s even alive. I haven’ seen or heard from her in twelve and a half years.”    
  
The decision had been made when he overheard her talking to Tardis. “Tell me what she was indentured for, and to whom. I’ll buy her freedom too, Rose Tyler. Families should-“ his throat caught as the thunderstorm tried to take over his thoughts, the flames, the screaming, the waves. A delicate touch on his right cheek brought his mind back to the room, and his eyes opened fo find Rose staring at him with understanding nobody else had ever given.   
“Families should be together. We’ll find your dad too.”    
  
“He’s dead.” Rose gave a violent shudder, and John knew without a doubt that she had seen it happen. “Beheaded for attacking the tax collector when he came ta take him ‘nd my mum away.” She had been so young, not even knowing her real age John guessed between six and eight when it occurred. No wonder she screamed, had nightmares. Watching your parents die violently wasn’t something one forgot, or forgave when it was there fault. “You’ll really help me find her?” Her fingers slid down his cheek to his shoulder, and John hated the doubt and uncertainty in her eyes.    
  
“I will, Rose Tyler.” He reached up to take her hand. It was such a bad idea to touch her, because he could feel it growing, the affection, the emotions he had forbidden himself from ever feeling. John was trying to fight them, but the hope that broke her face into a smile, all tongue wedged between teeth, made his mind go sort of fuzzy. “I swear to you.” Rose launched herself into his arms again, repeatedly sobbing her thanks. He needed to stop this, but her gratitude was too overwhelming to ignore. What was he going to do?


	8. Chapter 8

John huffed as he stared down at the material in front of him. He had done a pretty decent job, considering he’d never sewn anything besides rips in his own clothes, but this was necessary. He had sent a raven down to Jack, requesting clothes for Rose, but they wouldn’t be delivered until the end of the month.  So, he’d found some soft curtains that had once hung on the posters of his bed, washed them thoroughly, dried them beside the fireplace in his lab, and went to work.    
  
It was because he was also testing the new machine he had invented, one that ran off of a foot crank and could sew seams in a fraction of the time. It was absolutely not because seeing her in his pants and shirts was becoming extremely dangerous for his mental and emotional well being. Also, he absolutely had not gone through enough material for four dresses before successfully making the one spread across his planning table.    
  
It had been three days since Jack had come up, and Rose had started coming out of her shell. She talked to him now, a lot, as if she had been bottling years of thoughts and ideas inside. Sometimes, though, when she’d go off on a ramble about something she’d read in a book or an idea about where her mum could be, Rose would grow suddenly quiet, look down, and apologize for being a bother. He reassured her she wasn’t, but it took a while for her to get started again. That was the crux of it all, The fact that she wasn’t a bother.    
  
For the last nine years, John had found crowds and company a bother, a nuisance, at times even a drain. Rose wasn’t any of those things, and he couldn’t understand why. There was just something about her, something that drew him in to her, and he was fighting it. It had to be a trap set by the universe, something to make him forget why he had chosen this life of solitude. He didn’t want to get attached, because she would die too. Yet, sometimes Rose made it so easy to forget his rules. All it took was a sleepy smile when he woke her for breakfast, a brush of her bare skin against his arm as he blindly helped her into the tub, or the way she looked up at him from under her lashes when she was reading to make him momentarily forget.    
  
At least, it was a problem for him. John knew there was no possible way she was attracted to him. Rose was young and pretty, a few months shy of nineteen he’d found out. He was creeping up on thirty himself, and while he wasn’t ugly, he was definitely not the type of man she’d be interested in. She needed someone who wasn’t as emotionally broken as she was, someone strong, who could bring stability into her life. She needed somewhere open and free to fully bloom, not his drafty castle tucked away in the mountains. The fact that she barely viewed him as a friend made it easier, safer.    
  
With that thought to keep him centered, he wandered down to his room where he knew she would be waiting to walk down to the kitchen to help with dinner. Rose wasn’t able to cook one handed, but she was great at telling him what to add or how to alter his techniques to make the meals better. Sure enough, she was perched on his sofa reading out loud to Tardis. “Sorry I’m late.” He offered lamely, hiding the dress behind him as well as possible.    
  
“‘S fine, I know you get caught up sometimes.” There it was, that damned smile. John’s stomach did a little flip no matter how much he mentally yelled at it. “Whatcha hidin’, Doctor?” That was another thing. Rose never called him John, but at least she’d given up on the mi’lords. He’d hated the nickname since the explosion, but the way it rolled off her tongue sounded so perfect.    
  
“Um, a present, I know Yule’s not for another two weeks but...” swallowing, he snapped it out and held it up for her, hoping to all the stars he’d gotten her measurements right and that she liked pink and gold.   
  
“‘S gorgeous.” Rose felt a bit shocked at the dress in the Doctor’s hands. It wasn’t as exquisite or fancy as Reinette’s or Cassandra’s had Been, but it was definitely not one meant for a maid or a peasant. The design was more towards that of a lower noble or a rich merchant’s wife or daughter, and pink was one of her favorite colors. How had he gotten it? She had searched the castle high and low for women’s clothes. There hadn’t been any deliveries from the village. That could only mean one thing. “Did you... Doctor did you make this?” He was shuffling towards her, looking seventy shades of blush and humility.    
  
“Maybe.” He murmured, shuffling his feet as she set her book down, stood carefully, and took the material from his hands. “Just thought you might like something different to wear.” Those intoxicating brown eyes met hers, as the timid blush caused his freckles to stand out. “Never made clothes before, and if you don’t like it-“    
  
“‘M gonna go try it on right now!” Rose cut him off before he could continue babbling. The dress was so soft, but definitely warm and rich like the curtains he’d hung on her bed posts. She shuffled as quickly as she could to the wash room, setting her crutch aside so she could pull off the light coat he had loaned her for the drafty halls and fumble out of his clothes.   
  
Honestly, she didn’t mind wearing his things, because they were comfortable. Even if rolling up sleeves and trouser legs periodically got a bit tiresome, it was so much better than thin, tattered dresses. She managed to step into the dress and get the sleeves up, but he had put a corset style back into it with soft, golden cords that looked suspiciously like the ties for her bed curtains, except gold instead of black. It was a bit big, untied, but she knew it would fit once it was laced. She just couldn’t do it herself.    
  
  
“Doctor, can you help me?” Rose couldn’t call him John. The name Doctor was stuck in her head, and that was what felt natural coming out of her mouth. It felt better than Lord too, because he didn’t much act like one. The door opened, and he came in. “Can’ tie the laces. Could you jus’?” She gestured back behind her.    
  
“Yep.” In a few seconds he began pulling on them, straight down, and Rose had to chuckle. So he could make a dress like an experienced seamstress, but he couldn’t lace it up. “What? Too tight?” His fingers paused, and Rose could see that tiny frown of worry in her mind.   
  
“No, ‘s just, you’re doin’ it wrong.” Rose reached back to touch one of the loops. “Take this one, ‘N the one across from it then pull them out ‘til I say stop.” She dropped her hand, reminding herself to breathe. She’d never worn a dress like this herself, but she’d tied enough to know how. The Doctor began pulling, obviously a quick study as he would pause to adjust the other criss crosses to assist, and then when it fit snug enough, Rose instructed. “Stop. Now tie them in a double bow.” In a few short moments his fingers disappeared. “I wish you ‘ad a long mirror.” She sighed. She was curious to see how she looked.   
  
“I do.” The Doctor touched her shoulder, and she turned. He was smiling that friendly way he had, but as he looked her over it vanished as his eyes went wide and he began to stutter. “It, uh, it fits better than I thought.”    
  
“Can’ tell if you don’ show me the mirror.” Rose felt her blush forming as he raked his eyes over her.  She shoved it aside, mentally chastising herself as she always did when he said something or looked at her as if he found her beautiful. He may not have been born noble, but he was now. Peasant girls didn’t marry nobles. They could be secret mistresses or temporary trysts, but that wasn’t anything Rose could do. She didn’t even know if she ever wanted romance anyways. “Well?” She grabbed her crutch and waited as patiently as possible for the Doctor to move and lead the way to the mirror.   
  
“Inside the wardrobe.” The Doctor turned around, and Rose followed as he was muttering under his breath and hitting himself in the forehead. This was typical behavior if he’d thought of something he had forgotten or was toiling over some project, so she didn’t think on it. Not that she could do much more than blink in shock as he opened his wardrobe and she got a good look at herself.    
  
The dress was forgotten as she caught her reflection for the first time since arriving. She was so used to looking grubby, oily, and gaunt that seeing her cheeks fuller and colored, eyes bright and not sunken, and her skin hair looking smooth and shiny caught her off guard. It took her a full minute to rip her eyes away from her face and down to her body.    
  
She was still slim, but already a week and some odd days of as much food as she pleased had begun to fill her out. The dress hugged her torso, accentuating what little bit of curves she had, and it made her petite chest look more full. The pink material and hold trim accentuated her skin, giving it a glow. To her shock, she looked rather pretty. “Doctor, thank you!” She didn’t mean just for the dress, but for everything he had done for her. Tears stung her eyes as she turned, finding him watching her with a soft smile. She couldn’t help herself, and Rose tossed her crutch aside to hug him.    
  
“You’re welcome, Rose.” John caught her in his arms, fully aware that he really shouldn’t curve his around her waist. It felt too good, too right, too happy to be allowed. Then again, maybe the pain of her leaving once he found her mum would be the punishment. Rose pulled back to smile up at him, and it took every ounce of his self control not to touch her face. “So you like it?” It was a dumb question, because obviously she did.    
  
“I love it!” John almost saw stars as she pressed a kiss to his cheek. He did gasp, though, his fingers reflexively tightening to pull her closer. Then, to his utter amazement and self horror, Rose flushed as red as a tomato and looked away. “S-s-sorry, I didn’t mean to... I was just.” Why did she sound as stunned and breathless as he felt? No, it wasn’t possible, wasn’t allowed. Yet, he knew that look, had seen it on many a lady at court. Her eyes flashed up from under her lashes, and she pulled back to tuck her hair behind her ear.    
  
“Dinner!” John could have slapped himself for letting this happen. All he had meant to do was give her a damned dress. Now she looked too beautiful for words, and Empyrean help him she looked smitten. This wasn’t good. He should really separate their bodies before he did something stupid like pull that succulent looking pout from between her teeth with his lips. “A dress like this should be properly enjoyed with dinner and wine.”    
  
“Yeah, dinner sounds great.” Rose pulled back just a bit further, but her arms were still looped around his neck. Those honey eyes were flicking between his then briefly at his lips. John couldn’t think.   
  
“Haruf!” Tardis’ excited yap from the door broke the electric tension that had begun burning between them. Rose stepped back, and John had to mentally kick himself as he knelt to retrieve her crutch.    
  
“Shall we, my Lady?” He asked, handing it to her as he stood. My lady, really? Couldn’t his stupid mouth obey his stupid brain? Rose was blushing again, looking down at the skirts.    
  
“We shall, my Lord.” Rose gave him that tongue touched smile as she started towards the door, and John, masochistic idiot that he was, followed her. Rose had kissed his cheek, had wanted him to kiss her lips. He was in so much trouble.    
  
  



	9. Chapter 9

“Rose?” The Doctor’s voice drew her from where she was staring out of the window of her room, watching a snow storm forming in the distance. Rose turned, finding him leaning against the door frame with a bit of parchment in his hand “I thought you might want the honor of sealing this with my mark before I send it off ahead of the storm.” He offered her a soft smile, as he pushed away and held it out.    
  
Rose knew what it was without even needing to read it, but when she hobbled over, gods she couldn’t wait for her leg to be healed, and took it from him she felt gratitude blossom inside of her. “I, John Theta Smith ,   
Lord of Arcadia Valley and the Rift Mountains, formally request information on a woman named Jacqueline Tyler, who was taken into custody twelve years ago for her husband’s failure to pay taxes. Please send any information as quickly as possible.” The words seemed unreal to her, even though she had said them out loud. “Doctor, you’re really going to find her?” He had promised over two weeks ago, but after Jack’s visit they’d been hit with two blizzards back to back. The captain had just dropped off some more supplies that morning, saying he wanted to get them up immediately because the roads were going to be bad.    
  
“No, you’re going to send it.” The Doctor extended his arm past her, and Rose knew he wanted her to come to his room. “You’re going to seal it. I’ll tie it to the raven, and then you’ll let it go through the window.” He led her over to his desk, which held a small vial of blue wax melting an a smaller version of a seal stamp. Rose’s fingers were trembling in excitement and nerves as she laid the parchment down for him to pour some wax onto it. When he handed her his seal, she held her breath as she pressed it down to leave the imprint there.    
  
“Do you think she’s still alive?” Rose managed to whisper, past the nerves in his throat. The Doctor took the seal from her hands softly. She was too afraid to look at his face, in case he didn’t have any hope in his eyes.    
  
“Women are usually employed at the main castle or one of the smaller ones.” He began slowly roll the scroll up and tie it with a string. “Doing laundry or as a maid. She wouldn’t have been sent to the mines or quarries. I’d say there is a high probability she is still alive.” Rose knew he wouldn’t lie about something like that. He had no motivation to, no reason. So she nodded, watching as he crossed to the raven he hand brought down from the roost on one of the upper floors and tied the scroll to it. “Hold her gently.”   
  
Rose took the bird in her hands, cradling it softly as she could while he opened the window. “Fly fast.” She murmured, as she gave a gentle toss up and watched the raven disappear into the sky. “How long do you think until we’ll get an answer?” She shivered as the Doctor closed the window to block the building winter winds.    
  
“Two weeks to a month maybe?” He turned to face her, and Rose saw something in his features she couldn’t describe as he smiled at her. “Depends on how long it will take to find her record and then get a raven back.” She really wished he wouldn’t look down at her so softly like that, because it made her feel a bit breathless and tingly. She also wished he would keep doing it too, for the same reasons. “There’s a nasty storm coming in. Do you have enough blankets and firewood in your room?”    
  
“Mmhmm.” She felt her heart stutter just a bit as he brushed her hair back. “Are you going upstairs to work?” She kind of wished he would come to the library with her. Last night he had read a story to her, for the first time, and she wanted him to do it again. Rose loved the sound of his voice.    
  
“For a bit. You going to be okay down here by yourself?” The Doctor always asked that, even though he knew she would be. Rose liked that he always worried about if she was comfortable or safe. Nobody had cared about that since she was a child, and she nodded. “If you need me, scream, or come find me.” He gave that toothy grin before he shoved his hands in his pocket and swaggered away.    
  
Rose was having a hard time figuring out his personality. Sometimes the man had no concept of personal space, bounding into her room at the crack of dawn to plop onto her bed and start rambling. He’d get in so close she could count the hairs poking through the skin of his chin. Other times he’d keep a huge amount of space between them, usually on days he looked like he hadn’t slept.    
  
One thing was that he was never cross with her, ever, not even when she’d accidentally spilled wine on his favorite book. Rose knew he was capable of being dangerous and possibly violent, but he’d never turn it on her. This just seemed to be one of those days where he would be distant. That was okay, because she had a pile of packages on her bed that the Doctor had emphatically told her were all gifts, and that he wouldn’t hear a word about her repaying him for.    
  
So she made her way to her room, hoping Tardis would be up from her frolic in the forest. Rose liked her company, figuring out how to read her body language. She really wanted to know why she was so unique compared to the other autons in the castle. Staring down at the boxes and wrapped packaging on her bed made Rose nervous, but then she spied an envelope bearing a seal she didn’t recognize tucked between the strings of one. It had her name scripted across it, so she clumsily opened it with one hand.    
  
**Dear Rose,** **  
** **  
** **First let me start by saying I repeated John’s words to Cassandra exactly. The servant found in the woods died. Your debt to them has been paid in full, and now you can leave that life behind and be the Rose Tyler I always tried to bring out when I saw you in the village.** **  
** **  
** **If you don’t trust John already, then believe me when I say you can. I’ve known him for about eleven years now, and for the last nine he has kept himself isolated. He would never harm you, and those rumors I spread were all false. He is a good man, and if he has you under his protection then there is nowhere safer for you to be.** **  
** **  
** **Finally, he asked me to pick out some clothes for you. Honestly, the man has been locked away from society for so long I don’t think he gave a thought to everything a woman needs. He won’t mind that I went a little above and beyond, believe me. I hope you enjoy them all.** **  
** **  
** **Sincerely,** **  
** **  
** **Jack Harkness** **  
** **  
** **P.S. Idris loved gardenias.** **  
**   
Rose blinked at the letter. “Who’s Idris?” She knew it wouldn’t be in the letter if it wasn’t important, so she set it aside. She knew the bigger packages would hold dresses, so she went for one of the smaller boxes instead. Carefully she untied the yellow ribbon, pulled off the lid, and gasped. Inside were tiny pots of lip paint, from the color her namesake to almost flesh colored pink. “No way.” She grabbed another box, feeling her heart begin to race, and found a jar of face cream that smelled of lavenders as well as a small pot of khol to line the eyes.    
  
There was blush, a latched box containing brushes for the makeup, three decorative hair combs, a brand new hair brush with a matching comb and hand held mirror, scented skin powder with shimmer in it, powder for her eyes, and a small vial of tinted oil meant for her lashes with a tiny brush. Rose couldn’t believe it, couldn’t believe that Jack had done this, or that The Doctor would be okay with this much money being spent. She felt guilty about the cost herself. These were all from the top makeup producers, a step above what Reinette used, though she’d constantly badgered Cassandra to buy them.    
  
The last box was nestled between two of the dresses, and after Rose freed it, she opened it with care. Inside were four bottles of perfume, and she delicately opened them to sniff. One was a vanilla with a woodsy smell, one was a mixture of rose and apple blossom, one had sultry spice to it, and the last was fragrant gardenia. “Oh! That’s why he mentioned gardenias.” The question was, who was Idris? She didn’t think it was a wife or a lover. Jack wouldn’t have sent it if that was the case. Perhaps it was a sister or his mother. Rose didn’t know anything about his family. The Doctor never talked about them.   
  
He talked about his past at the castle and that he grew up on a tiny island off the mainland, but never who his family was. It struck Rose then that there was a high possibility they were dead. The Doctor wouldn’t want to talk about them in that case, just as she didn’t like talking about her father. She stared down at the beautiful items on her blanket, then over at the vanity the Doctor had hauled out of some storage room for her to keep her books and papers on. She had never worn makeup herself, but she had done Reinette’s enough to know how.    
  
Jack knew the Doctor better than she did, and if he said he wouldn’t mind then maybe he wouldn’t. That made her mind up, and Rose began carrying the items over to the vanity to arrange them on the polished wood. Heart racing in eagerness, she pushed her hair out of her face and began to apply her makeup. It was astounding, watching her appearance change in the mirror, until Rose wasn’t certain that it was even her in the small glass she held up. She looked like a woman, and to her shock, she actually found her appearance beautiful. “The servant died. ‘M free, my own person.” Repeating the words out loud made it seem so much more real, as she combed the front half of her hair back into a twist and held it in place with one of the jeweled combs. Then she made her way back to the dresses, not expecting what she would find.    
  
Every one she pulled out were stunning, not a fancy or expensive as a noble lady’s but definitely on the upper end of the societal scale. Four of them laced in the front, and Rose chose a warm blue one to wear. There were five night dresses, under dresses, three corsets, two riding outfits, three winter coats, and four cloaks. All of those were definitely of the calibre that would be worn by a Lady. To top it all off, Jack had picked out three pairs of shoes, a pair of slippers, and a pair of riding boots. “Jack, he’s gonna kill you.” Rose stripped out of the pink dress the Doctor had made her, and pulled on one of the under dresses and stepped into the blue dress she’d chosen. It was easy to lace up the front, and then she moved to look at her reflection in the window.    
  
Tears stung her eyes as she took it all in. Rose wouldn’t have recognized herself if she saw her own the street. Her slowly increasing weight had made her curves more noticeable, and the underdress pushed her breasts up enough that the white collar of the dress gave her just a hint of cleavage. The bottles of perfume caught her eye, and she picked up the gardenia one to dab a spot on her wrist and the drop some on her palm to comb through her hair.    
  
The joy she felt at having such things that were her very own and the need to thank the Doctor had her hurrying into the hall. She knew he would be in one of his labs, but he never complained about her walking in before. She’d made it halfway to the lift when she heard it coming up, and she grinned as she anticipated seeing Tardis. When the Doctor’s brown hair came into view, along with the smell of what must be lunch, Rose smoothed her skirts and fixed her happiest smile on her face.    
  
The lift came to a halt, as the Doctor was looking down at the tray balanced between his hand and his side, and he released the lever to grab the tray with both hands. “Hello Doctor.” She giggled, and when he looked up and stepped out, she expected him to smile. Rose absolutely did not expect him to drop the tray as his mouth gaped open in shock. Panic began rising.    
  
John felt like he’d been kicked in the gut. Hearing Rose’s voice had already made him feel a bit giddy, but as he took her in he couldn’t think. She was a vision, an absolutely beautiful image of blue and white and red lips. Her hair was pulled out of her face with a sparkling comb, and her face was powdered, dusted, and lined so perfectly Rose seemed to glow. Her already dazzling eyes sparkled brighter from the eyelash paint, the kohl outlining them, and the pinkish powder dusted on her lids. The red lip color made her smile all the brighter, that lower lip impossibly more tempting. The dress formed to her better than his had, and it showed quite a bit more of her chest. That chest was teasing him with glimpses of cleavage dusted with a shimmer powder, and as he drew in a breath to steady himself, his olfactory senses were taunted with the soft aroma of gardenias, his mother’s favorite flower.    
  
John knew who was responsible for the exquisite perfection before him, and he didn’t know whether he wanted to kiss or kill Jack for overstepping his request and buying Rose makeup and perfume when he’d said clothes. Rose’s smile was faltering, and John mentally slapped himself. He was just standing there gaping like an idiot, their lunch all over the floor, because he couldn’t form a coherent sentence in his brain. He tried to tell her she looked beautiful, but all that came out was “Blimey.” Sort of strangled.    
  
“Sorry, Jack sent it all up. I’ll just go pack ‘em up. ‘M sure the store will take them back.” Rose looked down at the floor, and he felt a stab of guilt. “I know you told ‘im dresses, but-“ she began to turn away.   
  
“No!” John didn’t mean to scream at her, and when she jumped he tripped over the tray to keep her upright. “No, no, I just... you look...” Gods he sounded like a moron. This was bad, so bad. He could hardly keep himself to his rules when she was simply beautiful. Having her looking like that, so dolled up and elegant, her eyes meeting his all full of hesitation and stars, resting her hands on his biceps was crumbling the already fragile wall around his heart. His mouth betrayed him with the biggest understatement ever. “Beautiful. You look beautiful.”    
  
“You’re jus’ sayin’ that.” Rose’s voice was timid, as those painted lashes brushed her now blushing cheeks with a blink. She wriggled out of his arms, as she looked past him to the mess on the floor. “‘M sure you’ve seen actually beautiful girls at court. ‘M just playin’ dress up. ‘Ll clean that up.”    
  
“I’m not just saying it!” John’s mouth really needed to get with the program, because his brain was reminding him, as it caught a whiff of gardenias again, that he was supposed to be alone. Friends were allowed, kept at a distance, seen rarely, but what was growing in his heart was absolutely forbidden. “D’ya think I’d drop a tray all over the floor if I was just saying it.”    
  
“Jus’ a dramatic flair for my benefit.” Rose sounded as if she really believed what was coming out of her mouth. “You’re just tryin’ ta make me feel good.” Damn that woman, she rolled her eyes as she tried to step around him, obviously making for the ruined lunch.   
  
“Not dramatic flair, and I don’t ever say things to make people feel good.” John blocked her path, realizing now that she didn’t have her crutch, which she really should for at least another two weeks. “You are not cleaning that up, little missy, and where’s your crutch.” He was trying to sound stern, but he knew he failed miserably. Being stern with her was impossible.    
  
“Didn’ want ta wrinkle the dress.” Rose looked down again, fiddling with the blue skirts of her dress. “Only hurts a bit when I walk without it.” He didn’t want her hurting at all, and he was moving before he could think.    
  
John lifted Rose into his arms. “Can’t have you hurting yourself.” It was a lame thing to say, as her arms went around his neck. Rose was still looking a bit sheepish, as if she didn’t believe he found her attractive. “And you are beautiful, Rose Tyler. You could put any lady at court to shame.” An image swam to his mind, Rose in a formal ball gown, smiling as he led her onto the dance floor. He tried to stamp it down, but it was so hard with her this close, smelling like comfort and home and everything he’d lost.    
  
Rose flushed even darker, as he carried her down the hall to his room and lowered her to the couch. He’d have taken her to her room, but there was nowhere for them to sit and eat. “‘D never fit in at court. ‘M just a peasant.” She murmured, reaching up to fiddle with her ear.    
  
“And so was I!” John huffed, not believing that she honestly couldn’t see past where she’d come from. If she walked into a ball, bachelors would be tripod over themselves to get at her, peasant or not. “You’re beautiful, clever, kind, and I’d be fighting other men off of you with a broom!” Why the hell had said other men? No, that implied he was claiming her. That was absolutely not allowed, ever.    
  
“I wouldn’ pay them any mind if you were there.” Rose flicked her eyes up to his, and his heart skipped three whole beats as she slapped her hand over her mouth. She wouldn’t pay attention if she was with him? Rose would prefer him over the other Lords and nobles? “Not that I’m saying you’d ever take me, because... well... um.”    
  
John needed to get away fast, because if he lingered for a moment longer her was going to throw his rules out the window and kiss Rose until she could see what he saw, what he shouldn’t be seeing. “I’m gonna go clean that mess and get some lunch.” He tried to back slowly out, but honestly he was sure he looked too much like he was running. Rose was going to be the death of him, if his debt to the universe didn’t kill her first. This couldn’t happen, period. John didn’t deserve her, or anyone.    
  
Rose watched as the Doctor fled from the room. “‘M such an idiot.” She groaned, as she leaned back. “Jus’ cause he said I was beautiful doesn’ mean he’s interested.” She could slap herself for so openly admitting how she was beginning to feel. “He’s a Lord, you’re a nobody. ‘S never gonna happen.”    
  
The Doctor wouldn’t want her for anything more than sex. Rose wasn’t stupid. Peasant girls didn’t end up with someone like him. The highest she’d ever get would be a lower level knight or maybe a merchant. That was if she ever decided she wanted to marry. She couldn’t think of that now. First she had to find her mum, then somewhere to live and a job. Rose needed to remember that once she left here, then the fancy dresses and makeup would have to stay behind. “Doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy them for now.” She tried to cheer herself up, as she fiddled with the dress.


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *sets out boxes of tissues, throws pillows and blankets everywhere, then prepares for a group sobfest*

Rose had been so relieved the night the Doctor took the brace off of her and declared she could walk, as long as she didn’t try to do anything strenuous. It had been a blissful moment as she waited for an answer back on her mum. There had been two more snow storms since she sent the letter off, and the winter was only getting colder. Even curling up with Tardis in front of the library fire required a thick blanket. Walking the halls demanded a cloak or one if her new coats.    
  
The conversation the day she’d first worn her makeup and new dress had stirred up a tension that Rose couldn’t quite explain. The Doctor still joined her for meals and occasionally reading, but he no longer burst into her room unannounced. She missed his ecstatic wake up calls more than she should. Occasionally their fingers would lace together without her noticing when they were sitting side by side, but he would separate their hands when he noticed. Rose didn’t miss the way he would sometimes linger in a doorway and watch her.    
  
She couldn’t deny anymore that she was attracted to him, but he had made it clear that it was a line he wouldn’t cross. Rose was okay with that, because she didn’t want to lose their friendship. She liked how easy being with him had become in a little over a month, and she also knew that their friendship would continue even after she left. Still, she felt a little guilty about not being able to repay him in some way for everything he had done. Now that she could walk unassisted, she planned to remedy that.    
  
Even though she still had the brace on her arm for at least another two weeks, Rose had begun to think of ways to help out. It didn’t require two hands to put coal in the stove and move the pot of potato and ham soup he had made the night before onto it. She had found a butler’s cart in the pantry, and easily readied it with two bowls, the needed items for tea, and some spoons. When the soup was hot, she ladled it into the bowls, moved the empty pot to the wash basin, and pushed the cart to the lift. It was high time she bring him lunch.    
  
The door to his lab for household inventions was open, and Rose heard the tale tell sounds of metal clinking on metal and the whir of electricity. She pushed the cart to the door, and paused to admire the Doctor at work. He had goggles on, and was tinkering with some device hooked up to wires. “Just hold still you little-“ he gave a frustrated growl as he caught a piece that flipped into the air and pushed it back into place. “See, innit that better?” Rose had gotten used to him talking to whatever projects he was working on, and honestly she found it endearing. “Why won’t you turn on though?” She smiled as he ran a hand through his already tousled hair and frowned, and when he smiled broadly, the joy behind it made her stomach flutter. “That’s why!” He stuck one finger into a space she couldn’t see, and then sparks flew out as he yelped and fell backwards off his stool.    
  
Rose knew he wasn’t hurt, judging by the string of profanity that followed, and she couldn’t help herself from laughing out loud as he popped up from the other side of the table, sans goggles, sucking his finger. Those coffee colored eyes met hers, going wide as she leaned against the door frame and held her stomach as she laughed. “That hurt!” His brows furrowed as he pouted at her, which only made her laugh harder. “Oh you think that was funny?”    
  
“Should’ve worn those gloves.” Rose managed to gasp, as tears of mirth stung her eyes. He gave a growl as he tossed the tool he was using aside and stepped around the table, and the way the Doctor’s lower lip pouted out like a scolded child was too much. She dissolved into giggles again.    
  
“I’ll show you funny!” In an instant Rose was in his arms as he poked and prodded at her sides playfully. She gasped for air at the tickles, trying to get away from him, but the Doctor kept on tickling her. “Not so funny now, huh?” He snickered, digging his fingers in just a bit harder, not enough to hurt, but enough to intensify the laughter inducing sensations that her stealing her breath.    
  
“Doctor!” Rose tried to bat his hands away, but only succeeded in somehow becoming pinned between his and the wall. “Doctor, I can’ breathe!” She gasped, which only made him laugh as he continued.    
  
“If you can talk, you can breathe!” The Doctor quipped, but then his fingers grazed up the side of her breasts, making her jerk and gasp for a whole other reason. He must not have noticed, because he was now torturing the underside of her arms with tickles. “Say sorry!”    
  
Rose tried to wriggle free, tears of laughter blurring her vision, but her movements only shifted his arms around to her back and her chest was pressed into his. The tickles stopped, and it wasn’t amusement that had her heart racing as she looked up to find him watching her with a blazing look. He was breathing heavily, as she swore there was a current of electricity sparking to life between their bodies.    
  
The Doctor’s eyes flicked down to her lips, as his tongue slipped out along his own. Her mind was telling her to stop, to not press up on her toes and close the gap, but her heart and body ignored it. It was just a soft brush, but it shot sparks down her skin as his fingers tightened against her cloak, and Rose felt a giddy joy fill her as she tried to do it again. This time, his lips closed over her lower one for a delicate embrace but suddenly he was wrenching away. “Rose, no! We can’t!” His eyes had gone from blazing to a look of horror.   
  
Rejection flooded through her as she felt her cheeks flush. “Sorry, right!” The happy moment was gone, as her throat felt tight and the confident feeling her red dress and makeup had given her all day dissipated. “Because ‘m just a peasant, and you’re a Lord. Won’t happen again. ‘Ll just go.” She turned, needing to get out of the room, away from her own humiliation. What had she been thinking?    
  
“Rose, wait!” The Doctor’s hand closed on her arm, spinning her around, and the look of regret and shame on his face was too much. Had kissing Rose kissing him really been so distasteful? She tried to jerk away again, swallowing hard to keep her face emotionless. “That’s not the reason! You wouldn’t understand.”    
  
“Well I can’ understand if you don’t tell me anything!” Rose didn’t mean to shout, but she was sick of his mixed signals. He called her beautiful, ran out, held her hand, let go, kissed her back, and then pulled away. “Tell me what it is then!” The Doctors fingers tightened slightly on her arm, as he shook his head with a strained sound. “Yeah, tha’s what I thought.” Rose yanked her arm free, shoving him back as he reached for him again. She wasn’t stupid. There was no other reason. “You don’ want me because ‘m some stupid, peasant, nobody. I’m not good enough.”    
  
“Will you stop degrading yourself?!” The Doctor grabbed her arm again, spinning Rose around and cupping her cheeks. “I can’t kiss you, can’t let myself get close to you, because I’m not good enough for you Rose.” Rose gasped at the hurt in his voice, the way he brushed his thumbs along her cheeks. “Because this castle, this Lordship, this isolation is my punishment. I can’t let myself have you, even though I’ve never wanted anyone more. Your life is too precious to risk.” His voice caught, and Rose could see the tears building in his eyes. He was being truthful.    
  
“Punishment from who?” Rose barely managed to get the words out, as the Doctor  dropped his hands and turned. He was hitting himself in the forehead again, muttering under his breath about lightning and fire. “From the King and Queen? From your parents?” Rose needed to know. She needed to know why she was at risk. He had told her she was safe with him. Grabbing his arm, she yanked him back around. “Tell me!”    
  
“From myself, from the universe!” The Doctor gave a choked cry and pulled at his hair. His eyes were wild, full of fear and loss and pain. “Because I killed them! I killed them all! My pride and arrogance cost them their lives, and I’ll never earn forgiveness!” Rose tried to ask who, but he slid to the floor and slammed his fist on the stones. “I shouldn’t have designed that ship! Shouldn’t have tried to outrun the storm! It’s my fault! I should have died that day, not them!”   
  
Now she knee something, and the anguish of the Doctor’s outburst as he covered his face and sobbed made her drop to the floor beside him. Rose knew instantly, even without details, that he hadn’t killed them on purpose, that the guilt he carried was for an accident. She didn’t know how to console him, and so she decided to try to get him to talk. “‘M sure it wasn’t your fault, Doctor.” He dragged his hands down to stare at her, to open his mouth and probably tell her she wouldn’t understand.    
  
She wanted to, and Rose pulled one of his hands into her left one to hold it. “Tell me. Why do you think its your fault?” The Doctor gave a pained whine, as he shook his head, but Rose wasn’t having that. He knew her story, and it was only fair she knew his. “John, please tell me.” It was the first time she’d used his name, and Rose hoped it would earn her some sort of reaction. The Doctor covered their joined hands with his other, squeezed his eyes shut, and swallowed. Then he opened them wide and looked up at the ceiling.    
  
Rose had used his name, and John was helpless to resist the softness of her voice, the gentle way she was staring at him with unabashed concern. He hated talking about it, but she deserved to know, to see he wasn’t a good man. “I was born on a small island called Kasterborous about a two days sail from Leadworth. My father, Corsair, was a weapons smith, hence my surname, and my mother, Sarah Jane, was a healer and midwife.” Rose didn’t make a sound, jus shifted closer to him on the floor and squeezed his fingers. John could see their small village in his mind, even almost thirteen years later.    
  
“I was an odd child, always reading and tinkering instead of out playing. My dad hated it at first, but when I was ten I invented a peddle powered billow for his forge that allowed him to feed the fire while freeing up his hands for quicker work.” John could see the look of incredulity on his father’s face as clearly as if he were in the blazing room, and then the smile that lit up his face. Sweat rolled down the circled serpent tattoo on his arm. “After that he encouraged my passions, teaching me about metals and metal working, while my mum taught me all about medicine and her craft. I was an only child, so they were able to spare extra money to buy whatever materials I didn’t work or barter for. My yule and nameday gifts were spools of copper, boxes of bolts and nuts, tools for bending metal, all things to aid in my creations.”    
  
John glanced over, finding Rose watching him with open, receptive eyes. She was being thankfully silent as he explained how he had come to this point. He had to get it all out. “By the time I was fourteen, I invented my first steam engine. I designed it to help turn the miller’s grind stone, so he didn’t have to replace his aging mule. Wood and coal were cheaper than feed and hay. It was the first invention I ever sold, and it worked brilliantly.” He had to smile a bit, remembering how proud his parents had been, how in awe the villagers had been of the contraption. “When I was just about sixteen, a viper snuck into my father’s forge and bit his hand. He lived, but my mother had to amputate his arm. I tried to take up his craft, but I wasn’t built for it. We began to struggle for money.”    
  
Rose finally made a sound, and John realized it was sympathy. She had grown up poor, knew what it was like to go to bed hungry, to see parents argue over whether to buy a flour or a new pair of shoes. “Then King Brian came to visit Lord Rassilon, and he saw the steam engine. He asked who built it, and the next thing I knew I was being asked to come to the Capitol and become the first ever Royal Inventor. I couldn’t say no, couldn’t turn down the opportunity to provide for my family. My mother was the only healer on the island, so they stayed. Every week I sent them gold, new clothes, basically anything I could to repay them for encouraging me to do what I do.”    
  
John drew in a heavy breath. That was the easiest part, the painless part, the details that didn’t make him feel guilt and anguish over his past. Rose gave his hand another gentle squeeze, and he hoped she wouldn’t hate him, but also knew it was safest that she did. “As I got older, I fell into the typical attitude of any seventeen and eighteen year old boy who was a favorite of the King and Queen. When I wasn’t inventing, I was out galavanting with the lower noblemen my age. I was arrogant, rude, full of myself, and thought I was the best thing to happen to the kingdom.” He looked down, mentally slapping himself for his boorish behavior in his past. “I winked, women flocked. I snapped, goblets were filled. I said work, and dozens of assistants would rush in and not stop until I said. I thought I was so clever. I didn’t blink if an assistant lost a finger or crushed a foot. There were others eager to replace them.”    
  
Rose’s hand twitched in his, and she made a strange sound in her chest. Good, he deserved for her to be disgusted with him. Still, he couldn’t meet her eyes, couldn’t tear his own away from the ceiling. “When my mother became pregnant with my baby sister, which was not planned mind you, I paid for one of the best healers to go down and tend to her pregnancy. The healer would stay on the island, after Idris was born, and then my parents would come to court to see everything I’d done. I had already been designing a new ship, you see, one that was powered by steam. The wood body was reinforced with metal, the mast was coated in copper and doubled as a flume.” He swallowed hard as he recalled how it had sparkled in the morning sun. “Even though the stormy season came to the seas between the mainland and island every fall, I was confident my ships could make the journey in one day instead of two. They did on the maiden voyage to collect my family.”    
  
John had to pause. He could see his father staring at the ships in wonder, as his mother teared up with pride and clung to his remaining hand. Baby Idris had smiled up at John from her blankets, those sweet cheeks flushed from laughter as he bounced her. She had been three months old. “My parents were on the Skaro, and I was on the Cascade. The Cascade’s engine had been acting up, and I needed to monitor it. When the storm began forming in the mid afternoon, the captains wanted to turn back. I thought they were being too cautious, too cowardice. I was nineteen and knew more than them. I told them to put more coal into the boxes, open the valves that brought the sea water in to boil, and put up the sails. The combined power of the steam and the wind would help us out run the storm, I thought. I was so sure, but... oh, Rose. I was wrong!”    
  
John squeezed his eyes shut, trying to banish the smell of burning, of the smoke, of the screams. “Just at sunset, the first clouds were closing in on us, but we were still keeping ahead of the main body. Then, lightning struck the mast of the Skaro. The copper conducted it right down to the engine, sparking fires in the wood, destroying the gauges and safety valves. I had just come above deck to talk to the captain, and I saw it happen. The ship was burning. Men were jumping overboard. Then, it exploded.”    
  
Rose gasped beside him, but he didn’t give her a chance to speak. John was on the Cascade again, screaming in horror as bits of metal and wood crossed the gap and crashed into the deck. The smell of electricity filled the air. Lightning struck the Cascade’s mast. “Then we were struck, and I knew the same thing would happen. The crew was already lowering the lifeboats, and a piece of the mast hit my head. When I came to, I was in the sea, being dragged onto a plank of wood. One of the crewmen was holding me up, and I watched as both ships burned and disappeared.” John couldn’t stop his tears, the guilt ripping into his chest as fresh as the day it happened. “The storm nearly drowned us, but somehow we were pulled into a life boat and managed to survive the waves. A fishermen found us the next morning. Out of a hundred crewmen for both ships, only twenty survived. Three were from the Skaro, and they said that my family was below deck when the explosion happened. They couldn’t get to their room for the fire. They went down with the ship.”    
  
Rose was sniffling beside him, and when he looked, John saw her cheeks pale and coated with tears. She was watching him with a look he couldn’t describe, couldn’t handle. It wasn’t right for her to look at him like that, like it wasn’t his fault. “If I had just agreed with the captain, had turned back, they would have survived. I was too arrogant, too proud, thought nothing, not even nature, could best me. So the universe took my family, took everything I truly loved. I have to be alone, because three lives don’t outweigh the eighty men I caused to die, all the injuries my assistances suffered, all the people my arrogance hurt!”    
  
“John, you couldn’ ‘ave known. It wasn’ your fault.” Rose’s voice was broken, as she pulled her hand from his and cupped his cheek. She tried to pull him to her, but John couldn’t let her. If he did, he’d cave in to her touches, believe the words on her lips. “You’re not arrogant ‘nd young anymore. You don’ need ta-“    
  
“Just stop, Rose!” John wrenched away from her to stagger to his feet. “I can’t let myself love you. The universe will take you away too, and I won’t have your blood on my hands.” He didn’t stop to look back at her, couldn’t trust himself to see her face, to see the acceptance and forgiveness in her eyes. “Being friends is as much as I can risk, not matter how much I want more!” With that he ran from the room.    
  
John knew she would hunt for him, so he went the one place she couldn’t get with only one arm. He headed for the clock tower, climbing the stairs past the autons and electric coils, jumping off a crate of coals to grab the ladder that would lead up to the gears of the clock, and collapsed onto the wooden floor. “Please, please don’t kill her too.” He pleaded with the cosmos beyond the reversed numbers before him. The grinding and ticking drowned his words out, as he pulled his coat tighter around him.    
  
Rose tried to give chase, tried to follow the Doctor, but her leg wasn’t strong enough to keep up. She searched the castle, even enlisting Tardis’ help when she came in. Yet, the metal wolf kept staring up at the clock tower, and Rose couldn’t get past the third floor, couldn’t reach the ladder. “Doctor, please! Come down!” She’d stood there crying for him, breaking inside over his pain, his anguish, knowing he couldn’t hear her. The inner workings, the hum of the electric coils, the hiss of steam were drowning her words.    
  
Rose called for him until her throat ached, until her almost healed leg felt weak, until she couldn’t call anymore. She knew he wouldn’t do anything reckless, knew that he’d eventually come down and pretend like he wasn’t hurting. If he wanted her comfort, wanted to know she didn’t hate him, blame him for what had happened, he wouldn’t have run. So she limped back down to the kitchen, surprised to find it was late afternoon behind the window. She tried to eat, but her stomach felt clenched and frozen.    
  
She’d give him space, let him recover on his own terms. Rose knew that pushing it would only make it worse, so she retreated to her room to wash her face, change into a night dress, and curl up with Tardis in front of the fire with a book. As she opened the pages, the words were a bit unfocused. Rose longed to hug the Doctor. To try to take some of his pain away, but she knew he wouldn’t let her. She rubbed her damp eyes, trying to make sense of the words, and she sobbed as she saw the quote a wise man was giving to the young hero of the story. “Everyone makes mistakes in life, but that doesn’t mean they have to pay for them for the rest of their life. Sometimes good people make bad choices. It doesn’t mean they’re bad. It means they are human.”    
  
Rose scrambled to her feet, grabbing her quill from her vanity and quickly underlined the words. Then she carried the book to his room, placing it on the Doctor’s pillow, and pulling the comb from her hair. She tucked it between the pages, so the spot would be marked, and then she went back to her room. If the universe was truly punishing him, truly wanted him to suffer, it wouldn’t have shown her that page. With that thought in her mind, she curled up under her blankets and let her heart break for the man she was slowly falling in love with.


	11. Chapter 11

It took a while for John to come back to himself from the memories. The reason for his isolation, why he had chosen such a remote estate was to avoid having to recount the story. It was easier to remember it randomly in flashes, but recounting it all was hell on his mind. It was only the freezing cold of nightfall that drove him down, and he only paused by Rose’s door long enough to crack it open and see her asleep with Tardis sprawled out on the foot of her bed.    
  
He retreated to his room, as exhaustion tugged at him. John knew tonight would be rough, that the nightmares would plague him. He dreaded them, but accepted that they were his punishment. He paused beside his bed, as he saw a book laying there with the jeweled comb Rose had been wearing marking a page. Maybe she had thought a calm story would help him, or a happy one, and the thought that she cared enough to leave it for him had him reaching for the book.    
  
Opening it, he found a section underlined in ink, and he read it out to the empty room. “Everyone makes mistakes in life, but that doesn’t mean that they have to pay for them for the rest of their life.” John sank to the sheets as the page swirled in front of him. “Sometimes good people make bad choices. It doesn’t mean they’re bad. It means they’re human.” He swallowed hard, chest growing tight at what she was trying to tell him. Had Rose remembered this line? How had she known where it was? He had read this story a dozen times and never processed that quote. “Oh, Rose, you just don’t understand.”    
  
How could she understand? Rose was young, and though she wasn’t naive to the cruelty of the world, she didn’t understand that some things could not be forgiven. John had begged the king to punish him, to hold him accountable, to take his title away. Yet, everyone saw it as a terrible accident, one that was nobody’s fault. That’s why he had retreated out here, why he only went to court once a year. He couldn’t forgive himself.    
  
John tossed the book aside, but held tight to the comb as he stoked the embers and added logs to the fire. He had already avoided sleep for two days, and he couldn’t avoid it any longer. Grief, self loathing, and utter exhaustion drove him to strip down to his night clothes and curl up under the blankets. He tucked her comb under his pillow, so he could return it to her in the morning. Tomorrow, he’d have to draw the line, to tell her that they could never be more than friends. It pained him to know it would hurt her, because he did want her. He’d never felt this way about any woman, ever.    
  
_ The ocean spread out around him, as the sky grew dark. John trekked across the deck of the Cascade, shuddering at the clap of thunder. “We should have turned back!” Captain Simms called from the helm. “Can’t the engine go any faster?!”  _ _   
_ _   
_ _ “We’re already at full speed, but the waves are fighting us!” John called back, mounting the stairs. “The storm isn’t going to catch us!” The wind ripped around him, as lightning struck a good league behind them. “Just keep the course, and we’ll-“ lighting sizzled the air, and everyone on deck screamed as the bolt hit the mast of the Skaro. “No!” The mast cracked, and John stared in horror as smoke began to billow.  _ _   
_ _   
_ _ He ran to the deck, clinging to the rail, and pin ripped through him like a dagger as the ship’s hull exploded. Bodies flew into the air with debris, crashing into the waves as parts of the Skaro crashed into the Cascade. The air around him sizzled, making his hair stand on end, and he watched as another bolt struck the Cascade’s mast. He couldn’t move, paralyzed as chaos erupted. “Save us.” His mother was standing in the flames, clutching Idris to her chest. “Save us John, we’re burning!” Tears streamed down her face, as a hand grabbed his arm.  _ _   
_ _   
_ _ “We’re drowning.” His father whispered in his ear. Then John was in the ocean, choking, gagging on salt and smoke. He couldn’t breathe, couldn’t see. He was sinking below the waves, everything was going dark. Then he was being yanked up, up, up until he was on his back and soft lips pressed against his. The sea turned to a garden, and he the warm lips caressed his again as ash and smoke turned to rose petals descending around him. _ __   
  
Rose hadn’t been able to sleep much, between a nightmare of being beaten, and the one that followed where she was wondering the frigid halls of the Doctor’s castle alone. She tossed and turned, tried to read in between the fits of sleep. Tardis was watching her with worried exhales and grinding whines. Still, there wasn’t anything she could do about it. She had just begun dozing for the fifth time when a blood chilling cry echoed through her door, jerking her awake and making her heart jump.   
  
Tardis jumped off the bed with a yap, sprinting to the door and scratching at it. The cry came again, and Rose scrambled off the bed herself as she realized it was the Doctor. She yanked the door open, chasing Tardis who raced down the hall to his door. “Doctor!” Rose pounded on the door, but he didn’t answer. Tardis was whimpering, yapping, as she heard the Doctor yell for his mum. “Doctor! ‘M coming in!” She shoved the door open, skidding into the room.    
  
The Doctor was supine in his bed, clenching the sheets in his fists. He was kicking hard, his face and neck drenched in sweat as his face twisted in agony. “Doctor, wake up.” Rose’s heart was breaking and pounding as she grabbed his shoulder in her good hand, shaking him. “Doctor, ‘s just a bad dream. Wake up!”    
  
“No!” He shouted, tossing his head, revealing how soaked his pillowcase was in the fading firelight. Rose shook him again, but he was gasping, writhing, almost as if he were fighting to stay afloat.    
  
She knew where his nightmare had him trapped. Rose had to wake him up, couldn’t stand the pain he was in. So, she did the only thing she could think of. Rose leaned down and pressed her lips to his softly. “Wake up, please.” She murmured, stroking his face as tears stung her eyes. She kissed him again, sighing at the salty sweat on his lips, as he stilled. “‘M here, John. ‘S okay.” A third time she pressed her lips to his, and this time she got a response.    
  
“Rose...” The Doctor’s voice was hoarse, as he reached up to caress her face. She pulled back, dropping to sit beside him as his eyes fluttered open and squinted at her. He was breathing heavily, looking around as if he were confused. His eyes met hers, and his other hand ran through his sweat dampened hair. The Doctor’s tongue grazed along his lower lip as he gasped. “Why?”   
  
“You were screamin’, and I couldn’t... ‘m sorry.” Rose knew he was probably going to be upset again, but she didn’t regret it. She’d calmed him, woke him up, and that was all that mattered to her. She wiped her eyes, making to stand and leave him be. “‘Ll just go.” He had made it clear that he wouldn’t cross that line, but she had done it anyways.    
  
“Wait.” John grabbed Rose’s good arm, as he pushed himself up. It was a bad idea, horrible really, but her taste was on his lips, and he wanted more. She had quelled his nightmares better than any drink had, better than exhaustion. He was too weak to resist her as the pain of rejection in her posture. He pulled her back down, catching her face with his other hand. He didn’t understand how she could want him, after everything he’d told her. “I’m no good for you. The things I’ve done. Why can’t you understand that. I caused them to-“   
  
“You saved me.” Rose’s voice was trembling as she spoke, and the dying fire in the hearth made her golden eyes glow. “How can you think you’re a bad person if you saved even one life?” One life didn’t equate. It didn’t erase his past. “You were young, no older than me now. You can’t keep punishin’ yourself. Your parents wouldn’ want it!”    
  
“How do you know?” John didn’t even know anymore. They were gone, never coming back. It was his fault. “I’m unforgivable.” He pulled his hands away from her, dragging them down his face.    
  
“Didn’t you read the book I left?” Her left hand grabbed his, pulling it to her lips and his breath caught as she kissed his palm. John had, but so what? She remembered a quote about forgiveness and remembered it. “After you hid, I went to my room ‘n tried ta read. The book opened to that page.” Her lips pressed to his palm again, sending sparks along his arm as a tear rolled down her cheek. He couldn’t stop himself from catching it with his little finger, his mind slowly understanding what she was saying. “If the universe wanted to punish you, why would it show me that, so soon after you told me?”    
  
“I don’t know.” John squeezed his eyes shut, clinging to his self flagellation with all he had. He didn’t know how to exist without it. How could he not blame himself? “I don’t know, Rose!” He groaned as he tried to resist the truth she was offering him. He chanced a look at her face again, seeing everything he never thought he’d deserve in her eyes: adoration, acceptance, love, and forgiveness. Tardis gave a soft whine from the floor. He’d saved her too. Two lives the universe had left dying, two lives he had saved. How could he save them if he was being punished? Tardis hadn’t been taken away, so maybe Rose wouldn’t be either.   
  
“Please forgive yourself.” Rose whispered into his palm, and John felt his fragile resolve shatter. He surged forward, shifting his hand to her hair and claimed her lips with his own.    
  
They were perfect, so soft against his, sticky with tears as she looped her arms around his neck and sighed. They broke apart for a breath, and then John caught her lower one between his like he’d been yearning to do since the day they’d been interrupted by Jack. It was too late to fight. He was already too far gone, needed her too damn much. If the universe wanted her, John would fight it with everything he had. “Thank you.” He murmured against Rose’s lips, as he slipped his arms around her waist and pulled her onto his lap. Her only response was to part her lips with his in a sigh.    
  
Rose couldn’t believe it. The Doctor’s tongue was teasing hers in soft, twirling brushes. His fingers dragged along her back, making her feel boneless and dizzy all at once. She had never imagined kissing could feel so wonderful, that it could fill her entire body with growing heat. He shifted under her, pulling away from her lower lip with a wet smack, and Rose shivered at the way her lips had left his swollen, how he was flushed and breathless as she felt. The silence between them was charged, as she toyed with the short hairs at the nape of her neck. “My Doctor...” she breathed, leaning in to rest her cheek on his shoulder.    
  
“My Rose.” The Doctor kissed her hair with a hum as he squeezed her. Rose had never felt as safe and loved in her life as she did in that moment, and as his lips pressed into her hair again, his stomach growled. Rose couldn’t help herself, as a giggle escaped her lips. Then John was chuckling too, unwinding himself from her as she felt her own empty stomach grumble. “You skip dinner too?”    
  
“Couldn’t eat.” Rose watched as he shook his head at her. “I can go make us something.” She offered, loathed to leave his arms. She wanted to kiss him again, to feel him forgive himself.    
  
“Or we can cook together.” The Doctor moved her to the sheets before scrambling to his feet. He pulled on a one of his dressing robes and held the other out for her. No sooner did Rose have it tied, than she was off the floor, cradled in his arms. “Can’t have my Lady going to bed hungry.”    
  
“Your Lady?” Rose hummed in delight at the way that sounded. His answer was to kiss her brow as they headed into the dark hall, with only Tardis’ eyes to light the path. “I like the way that sounds.” She nuzzled her face into his shoulder, breathing in his scent of cologne, books, coal smoke, and metal.    
  
“Me too.” The Doctor squeezed her gently. Their dinner ended up being sandwiches and wine, in between chaste kisses as she perched on a counter and him constantly touching her face and arms.   
  
Rose was a bit dismayed as he carried her to her door and lowered her to the floor, and it was fanned higher as the Doctor gave her a knee-shaking kiss. She didn’t want to let him go, afraid if he walked away he would change his mind. She also didn’t want to face her own nightmares. “Can I sleep with you?” She murmured, as he pulled away from her lips.    
  
John knew it wasn’t proper, but who was going to see. He knew he had no intentions of pursuing her physically, at least not yet. He wasn’t who he used to be, and he really didn’t want to let her out of his arms. He didn’t want to lay awake all night wondering if she would live to morning. “If you get in my bed, I’m going to want you there every night.”    
  
“No arguments from me.” Rose broke into a grin as Tardis’ eyes illuminated her face, and John scooped that tongue touched smile up to his lips as he carried her to his room. It was too perfect to watch her shed the dressing robe as he put logs onto the fire, and it was all too right to feel her snuggle her back into his chest and pull her arms around her. “Sweet dreams, John.”    
  
“Sweet dreams, Rose.” He murmured into her hair, and John closed his eyes to fall into the bliss of dreamless sleep.    
  
  
  



	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry so short! Busy stuff going on

“Why’s Tardis so different from the other autons?” Rose asked from where she was brushing the horse, which she’d named Astraea, as John mucked the stall out. The metal wolf in question was digging in the snow just outside of the stables. “She acts jus’ like a wolf.”    
  
“Oh, I didn’t tell you that did I?” John mentally kicked himself. He’d been so caught up the last two weeks with his inventions, carefully teaching Rose how to assist, and forcing himself not to be afraid every time he held her or touched her or kissed her that the story had slipped his mind. He tossed the load of soiled hay and dust into the barrel and leaned against the stall door. Rose looked around Astraea’s neck and shook her head. “Well, it’s really similar to how we met actually.”   
  
“Well don’ keep me waitin’ Doctor.” John really did like the way that name sounded on her tongue. He loved how she only used his birth name when they were having sweet moments or first thing in the morning.    
  
“About four years ago, I was running low on meat. The roads were closed from a rockslide during the rainy season, so I had to go hunting.” Rose had resumed her brushing, and John couldn’t see her past Astraea’s back, but he knew she was listening. “I had just shot a wild turkey, when I heard this whining noise in the trees. I investigated, and that’s when I found her. She was half dead, with her back gouged open, and blood was everywhere.” Rose jerked around again, mouth agape in shock. Maybe he should have started with the most important fact. “Um, she acts like a wolf because she was a real wolf.”    
  
“Ooookaaaay.” Rose looked thoroughly confused, and honestly, John couldn’t blame her. He still didn’t understand how he’d managed it, not really. “Go on.”    
  
“She was barely alive, but I could tell she was pregnant. Judging from the wounds, she’d gotten into a fight with a larger wolf or maybe a mountain lion.” John could still see the gashes, Tardis’ exposed and fractured spine as clear as day. “I couldn’t just kill her, not with pups in her belly. Just didn’t sit right with me, so I wrapped her up in my cloak, and she bit the hell out of my arm.” He rolled up a sleeve to show the scars. “But that didn’t stop me. I figured I’d patch her up, get her healthy, and set her free. She was too weak to fight, when I picked her up, and later I learned her entire back half was paralyzed.”    
  
John shuddered a bit as he recalled the trek back to the castle, how every breath Tardis took seemed weaker and weaker. He was still in awe that she made it. “I took her home, cleaned and patched her wounds up, and started feeding her. When I realized her back legs didn’t move, I started thinking about taming her. Took the better part of a month, but soon she was eating out of my hand and letting me carry her outside. So I made a sort of cart for her, so she could walk. She started following me around the lower levels, and I knew she accepted me.”    
  
“Doesn’ explain the metal body.” Rose piped in. That was another thing John was fond of. Now that she knew he honestly cared for her, didn’t see her as less than himself, she was a bit sassy and feisty. It was common place for her to interrupt or playfully poke at him a bit.    
  
“Getting to that.” John chuckled, as he looked over at Tardis, making a mental note to oil her down after getting in the snow. “Well, I had been theoretically studying the possibilities of taking a living consciousness and putting it into an auton.” Those amber eyes peered around Astraea again, this time with raised eyebrows. “I hadn’t tried it!” He defended himself, remembering the rumors. “Just something I was looking into being a possibility. I told you, used to have a bit of an ego.” He was glad he had burned all his research and notes on it. “Well, she started getting sick, really sick, and her belly wasn’t growing as it was supposed to. Her teats weren’t filling with milk, and I realized that the pups had died inside of her. I didn’t have the medicine to start labor or to heal the infection, and I was so attached to her that I didn’t want to lose her either. So, I decided to see if my research would work.”    
  
Rose had come around now, her face a bit pale as she watched him with an indescribable look. She wasn’t talking, just taking it all in. “Blamed myself, you know, thought it was the universe punishing me for loving her. Yet, I didn’t want her to die because of me. So I spent three days straight building her body, the one she has now. I didn’t think it would work, but she was dying either way. Her organs were shutting down as the infection spread.” He ran a hand through his hair, kicking at the sawdust as he looked down. “I honestly don’t know how it worked, but I put her under anesthetic, started the steam engine in the metal body, and carefully, but quickly, removed her brain and transferred it to the metal body. I connected to these things I call circuits and electrodes.” He could remember how he shook, how her fur covered body had been riddled with pus and the brain barely looked alive. “I thought I’d failed, but then her eyes lit up, and she wagged her tail. I was so relieved, completely baffled, but she was trying to run and jump. Bit clumsy in the beginning, but she did it.”    
  
“Oh my gods.” Rose covered her mouth, dropping the brush and staring out at Tardis who was currently digging again. “Did you ever try with a person afterwards? Were you going to try with-“    
  
“No!” John knew she was going to ask if he’d thought about it with her. It hadn’t even crossed his mind. “Once I realized it was possible, I knew that it could be twisted for evil. I burned all of my research that night. Only you and I know the truth. Jack just thinks she’s an advanced auton is all, and nobody else even knows she exists.” He hadn’t thought ahead that the reality of what Tardis was would possibly make her upset, and as he watched her look between him and Tardis with wide eyes. “She’s happy, and she isn’t in pain.”    
  
“I know, ‘s just...” Rose wasn’t sure whether she was mortified, astounded, or touched that the Doctor had gone to such lengths to save Tardis. She understood why he had done it, why he hadn’t wanted her to die. He had felt like, somehow, it was his fault. He still blamed himself for so much, more than he let on. Rose had heard it when he talked in his sleep, felt it when he was hesitant to touch her. “You swear you’ve never done that to a human?” She glanced over at the Doctor again, and he was watching her with an anxious, hesitant look.    
  
“Rose, I swear. I burned every last note. I don’t even remember everything I did to achieve it!” His voice pitched up an octave, the way it always did when he was frantic but telling the truth. “Do you hate me?” His eyes cast down, and he fiddled with the handle of the pitchfork he was using to clean Astraea’s stall.    
  
“Of course not.” Rose didn’t hate him at all, and to prove it, she came forward to tilt his chin up just enough to press her lips to his. She was unsure exactly how she felt about it, but she knew he hadn’t done it out of cruelty or trying to enslave the wolf. All he wanted was to help the world, to save lives, to try to bring balance to what he had cost. “I could never hate you.” That nervous smile twisted his lips up. “Now, finish that stall. ‘M hungry, and you need to finish that project you’re working on.”    
  
“Well yes ma’am!” The Doctor kissed her with a chuckle and dashed back into the stall. “Oh, by the way, I got a raven this morning from the Capitol!”    
  
Rose froze from where she was about to throw Astraea’s blanket back over her. Her heart skipped a beat, wondering if it was about her mum. “About mum?” She queried, expecting him to pop back out with an eager smile.    
  
“No, but remember how I said you’d fit in just fine at court?” Rose felt the disappointment sting at her, but no news was better than bad news. It could take weeks for them to find her mum’s records. “Well, come February I’ll get to prove it. Prince Rory is getting married, and I’m mandated to attend.”    
  
“Please tell me it isn’ Reinette.” Rose groaned. She could only imagine what sort of chaos that would be. Then the rest of his words hit her. He was mandated to appear at court, and he was taking her with him. The stables gave a wild spin around her, and she had to brace herself against Astraea.    
  
“Nope, this tavern keeper’s daughter named Amelia Pond.” The Doctor tossed the last load into the wheel barrow and pushed it into the hall. He was snickering like a maniac, as his eyes twinkled mischievously. Rose completely understood why. The Prince was marrying a commoner, after a year of meeting with every eligible noble woman for a year. Reinette was probably having a cow. “And, if we don’t get news on your mum by then, I can personally look into it myself.” He began shoveling shavings and hay onto the stall floor.    
  
“Doctor.” Rose fiddled with the buckles on Astraea’s blanket as she felt unease wash through her. “What if Cassandra and Reinette are there?” She didn’t even want to imagine how that would wind up. It would be a disaster, and if they recognized her, she may get taken away. Then again, Rose barely recognized her appearance anymore, now that she was approaching a healthier weight, had fancy dresses and wore makeup.    
  
“You’re my lady.” The Doctor paused in his work to brush her hair behind her ear and kiss her cheek. Rose felt the warmth trickle down to her toes, like it always did. Sometimes that warmth became a burning heat when they were kissing or snuggling in bed, but he had never pressed for more. “And they’ll never lay a finger on you again. I promise, Rose.”    
  
“Thank you John.” Rose met his eyes, confident in his assurance she’d be safe. “Now finish.” She playfully swatted at him with her one good hand, thankful that she had seen enough of Reinette’s etiquette and dance lessons to know how she should behave. Rose was still anxious, but if she wanted to be with John, she’d have to get used to going. Hopefully, they’d have word on her mum by then.


	13. Chapter 13

Rose was anxious about the imminent appearance at court, even though she tried to hide it. John could see it, and he didn’t want her to feel like she wasn’t going to fit in. It wasn’t really fair for her that the only nobility she had ever known were the O’briens and the more snobbish families they associated with, because King Brian, Queen Melinda, and Prince Rory weren’t like that at all. Well, excluding formal events they weren’t.    
  
One thing that had him the most concerned about taking her to court, apart from still being absolutely worried that the universe would steal her away, was that wine flowed like water there. She had a glass or two a few times a week at dinner, but that was it. John didn’t know how’d she’d handle it with practically every meal and throughout the day. So, he made an executive decision to wheel a barrel of wine up from the cellar and start getting her ready. Armed with one of his rarely used crystal decanters, he tracked her to the library. “We need to talk.” He set the wine and goblet down, as she looked up from her book.    
  
“What about?” Rose closed her book as he flopped down on the small sofa beside her. She was looking so much better, with two months of good food, relaxation, and affection. Her face was really starting to fill out now, giving her a softer, more inviting structure, and her body was definitely showing that it had delightful curves. “Did you hear anything about my mum?”    
  
“Not yet, but I do expect news by the end of the month.” John really did. If Jackie wasn’t at the castle, then they would know where she was. Honestly he had expected news by now, but the weather up in the mountains was pretty bad this time of the year. If the raven returned to the castle, they knew to resend one to Jack, who would either deliver it himself or  send it up on a clear day. “It’s about going to Leadworth.”    
  
“Oh!” Rose looked a little less disappointed than she had when he first said no. John didn’t even bother hiding his pleased look as she shifted closer. “What about it?”   
  
“I’m a bit concerned about one or two things for you.” John winced inwardly as her eager eyes furrowed a bit in that way they always did when she was thinking less of herself. He couldn’t have that. “Stop those thoughts, because you’ll be fine fitting in.” He knew he should have worded it differently to begin with, but he wasn’t used to having anyone to look after, or not offending. “It’s about your physical well-being, particularly your alcohol intake.” There was confusion on her face, as her gaze flicked to the wine pitcher. “Wine is the drink of choice at court. There will be a lot, and I want to make sure your tolerance is fit to handle.” He offered her an encouraging smile, watching as understanding lit up her features. “That’s all.”    
  
“So you want me to start drinking like that now?” Rose arched an eyebrow at him, as if she didn’t quite believe what he was saying. Honestly, John adored her skepticism. It was refreshing after years of people agreeing with everything he said. “Or is this your way of trying to get me drunk.” She gave him a look that could only be described as mischievous, and it made his whole body flush with warmth.    
  
“Oh if I wanted you drunk, you’d be drunk.” John reached over to tug playfully at a lock of hair beside her ear. He had to admit to himself that her smirk had him wondering exactly what she would be like a little past tipsy. “I just want you safe, and that means making sure your second day at court doesn’t end up with you sick.”    
  
“So how much should I drink ta start? Never even had wine ‘til I came here.” Rose eyed the decanter of wine a bit anxiously. Of everything she had been worried about at court, wine hadn’t been in her thoughts. She hadn’t gone more than two glasses at dinner since arriving, because then she started feeling tipsy.    
  
“Well we’ll start with this pitcher. Um, drink it throughout the day, and then your normal amount at dinner.” The Doctor tugged at his hair like he always did when he wasn’t sure how things were going. “Unless you start feeling drunk before then.” He offered her one of his shy smiles, and Rose felt her tongue wedge between her teeth in response. “I already had lunch, so I’m gonna go up and get started on the wedding present for the new couple. See you at dinner.”    
  
“Yeah. See you then.” Rose had to roll her eyes as he practically dashed from the room. The Doctor was still adjusting to their changed relationship, and sometimes he reverted back to his old habit of running whenever he wasn’t sure what the right thing to do was. She wasn’t worried, because come dinner he’d probably be forgetting what personal space was. Then, at bedtime, he’d be practically wrapping himself around her. She loved how it felt    
  
Rose poured herself a goblet of wine, and stood to look at the walls of books. She couldn’t admit to him that she was extremely nervous about embarrassing him and herself. She may or may not have tossed the fictional books aside and begun reading up on political history and etiquette. She knew enough from watching the O’brien women, but had never used any. She sipped the wine, as she moved up the stairs to the second level of books. The title of one about the changes in dancing throughout history caught her eye.    
  
Dancing, there would be dancing, and Rose groaned out loud. She had never danced, ever, unless she counted playful jigs during a festival when her dad was alive. Although, she saw Reinette taking classes, and she had seen the traveling traders’ women dancing in the village every spring and summer. “Damn it.” She took another swig as she yanked it out. As she’d hoped, the book not only held history of the dances, but some instructions too. She’d have to ask the Doctor to teach her.    
  
Heading back down to her usual reading area, she drained her goblet and refilled it.  Reading, painting, and helping the Doctor in his labs were really all she ever had to do, and reading distracted her best. It took her mind off of worrying about her mum, Mickey, and Bill. Which thoughts of them tugged at her mind quite often. Jack had told her that the latter pair had been punished quite forcefully, but weren’t permanently injured. Rose wanted to ask the Doctor to buy their debts out too, but she wasn’t sure how to broach it.    
  
She took another drink, making sure to pace herself, trying again to focus on the explanation for a waltz on the page in front of her. Rose knew she shouldn’t dwell on things she couldn’t fix, but once her mind got started on the tangent, she found it hard to back track. Normally, she would track down the Doctor when she couldn’t be distracted. Helping him required absolute concentration, but she had a task to work on. “Drink and learn to dance.” Besides, if he had lunch alone then that meant he was in a mood to be isolated. So she sipped slowly, and did her best to focus.    
  
John wasn’t technically hiding. He didn’t hide anymore. It was just that Rose’s damned smile had recently began eliciting responses from his body that were not exactly appropriate when he had sworn to treat her differently than the women he’d been with in the past. Sharing a bed was already difficult enough, but the last week or so had his body responding with just a glance. It hadn’t helped that she’d been wearing her riding clothes instead of a dress, which really left nothing of her shape to the imagination, and help him, she was really developing an enticing shape.   
  
The fuse John was trying to wire zapped his finger, jerking him from his musings. “Damn it!” He sucked his finger with a scowl. This was why he had to get away from her. He couldn’t concentrate when Rose was on his mind, and he really needed to focus. It had been a good three hours since he had left her in the library, and since it was his turn to cook dinner, he only had another hour or so to get this prototype ready before he could work on the full sized one.    
  
It wasn’t a big or elaborate invention. John knew Rory kept a steam generator in his room, much like the one he had in his own, because the castle at Leadworth only had electricity to certain rooms. Since they didn’t have the unlimited access to coal he did, their main generator couldn’t support the entire building. However, he was working on a solution for that. The gift was going to be a pair of lamps that could be wired to the generator, but he had barely gotten the fuses to receive the currents together. Giving up on trying to get any work down when his thoughts were floors below in cream colored leggings, a pink tunic shirt, and a matching cream bustier with gold latch fasteners, he unhooked the wires, turned off his tools, and headed down to the kitchen. Surprisingly, the air already smelled of food.   
  
On the counter top beside the sink, he found the wine decanter he had left her empty, but their usual, smaller, dinner jug was missing, as was his favorite goblet. “Guess she took them upstairs.” In the sink was a dirty pan and three dirty pots, and when he checked the stove, the fire was still burning strong. He hurried up to their room. That thought made him smile, their room. Rose still dressed and did her makeup in her room, but they did practically everything else in his.    
  
“Hey there.” He smiled, as he caught sight of her sitting cross legged on the sofa by the fire with a plate. She was flushed in the cheeks, chewing a bit of steak with a pleased look. “Wasn’t it my turn to make dinner?” His plate was waiting on the low table, and he sat down beside her   
  
“Yeah, but I was hungry.” Rose grinned after she swallowed, scooping up some mashed potatoes on her fork. He grabbed his own plate, fork, and knife. “Couldn’t wait!” She closed her lips around the fork, then reached to the table to pick up her goblet. There was something off about her movements that he couldn’t quite place. “I need a favor.”    
  
“Anything.” John cut off a bit of his steak to take a bite. Rose’s cooking was always delicious, and his steak was perfectly medium rare. After she swallowed a gulp of wine, she set it back down and stabbed another bit of meat with her fork.   
  
“I need dancin’ lessons.” John almost choked. Dancing, he’d forgotten about the fact that there would be dancing. He was quite good, but now he was picturing Rose in an elegant ball gown, as he twirled her around the room. “‘Ve never danced, ‘nd it isn’t somethin’ a book can teach.” Her words were more cut short than normal, and when she looked at him, John could see her pupils were more dilated than usual and glassy. Empyrean help him, Rose was almost drunk. “Can you teach me?”    
  
“Uh, yeah.” John half contemplated stealing Rose’s goblet from her, but her plate was practically empty and she was setting it down to grab her goblet. “Maybe you should switch to water.”    
  
“Why? This wine is delicious!” She took a drink and lowered the cup with a content sigh. “Hurry up and eat, Doctor! I want to dance with you!”    
  
“Go over to that table beside the closet, flip the latch, and lift the lid.” John hadn’t had an opportunity to use the device he’d created as an anniversary gift for the king and the queen since he made it, but the prototype had sat in his room for five years. Sure enough, as Rose stood, her walk was just a tad unstable. She wasn’t drunk yet, but she was definitely tilting over the line past tipsy. What had he done? John began shoveling food into his mouth.    
  
“Wha’s this?” Rose queried, lifting up a cylinder with grooves on it.    
  
“You’ll see.” John had no choice but to chase his own meal with the wine. As it hit his tongue, he froze. He hadn’t paid attention to the engraving on the barrel, thinking it was one of the sweeter, less potent vintages. Instead, he’d given her one that had been a gift from some Lord or another as payment for an invention. It wasn’t the strongest wine out there, but definitely potent enough that the decanter she’d been drinking all day combined with the one she’d just had was going to have her over the edge of she had anymore.    
  
He drained his own goblet, before setting his plate aside to join her. John lifted shelf the machine rested on up, then he plucked one of the cylinders up and placed it onto the spindle. Once that was set up, he unhooked the wires from one of the lamps to attsch it to the machine. Then, with a push of a button, music filled the air.    
  
  



	14. Chapter 14

“How is it doing that?” Rose stared in wonder at the machine, as the cylinder spun and a thin needle slowly moved along it. The music sounded odd, very echoey and high pitched, but it was definitely music. Everything was a bit odd, actually, from the tingling in her face to the unsteady movements of her body. Well, they weren’t unsteady, more like hard to judge their motion.    
  
“I’ll explain later.” The Doctor took her arm gently and pulled her towards him. Rose quite liked the way he took her waist and hand, holding himself up a bit more proudly. Now he looked like a proper Lord, even with his hair mussed and shirt stained from working. “Now, the first, and easiest dance, is a waltz.” He pressed his fingers against her lower back, forcing her posture straighter, and shrugged his arm until her hand rested at the very top of his bicep. “And three, two, one.” Rose was moving. She didn’t have to where to place her feet, because the Doctor stepped, and she was pulled to follow.    
  
Rose was a bit clumsy to start, John had to admit, but as soon as her feet had the rhythm she was moving easily with him. It helped that she was simply grinning up at him, and not looking down or overthinking things. If she had been sober, that may have happened. “This’s easy.” She giggled, making him chuckle in response. He honestly didn’t known what it was about her, but every day, every little thing like that, he found himself falling deeper and deeper for Rose.   
  
“We’ll see how well you do when you haven’t been drinking.” He teased, and Rose rolled her eyes. “Now, up!” He lifted her gently for the brief twirl that came with the chorus of the song, which earned him a delighted squeal. “Are you sure you’ve never danced before?” He had to ask, because she was catching on brilliantly as they moved to a behind the back pass.    
  
“Nope, just seen Reinette take lessons.” Rose came back to him, and John was sorely tempted to chase that tongue right back into her mouth. “‘Nd seen the traveler ladies dance in the market.” He knew which travelers she meant, but he’d never seen them himself. “Don’t think that dancin’ is ‘ppropriate at court though.”    
  
“Why’s that?” John stilled as the song came to an end, and he made his way over to the music. He trailed his fingers along the cylinders, looking for another dance to teach her. He slipped one onto the spindle, another waltz, but a bit more cheery and less intimate. Having her so close, so relaxed and carefree was not good for his already rebellious body.    
  
“Because it’s not dancing like this.” Rose was more than happy to return to the Doctor’s arms. The first dance had been a cinch to learn, but this music was a bit quicker, and there were twirls and more lifts. The foot work was similar, but remembering which had to put up or take down was challenging. By the end of the song, Rose was giggling over her own clumsiness as she gasped for air. “I need another drink.” She tried to pull out of his arms, but he was laughing and holding her back.   
  
“I think you’ve had enough!” The Doctor dropped a playfully kiss to her nose. He had to let her go, though, to restart the music. As soon as she was free, Rose raced for her goblet to get some more wine to wet her throat. She was feeling good, better than she had in years and years. She poured hers full, then feeling generous, topped his off too. “What are you doing?” The music was filling the room again, but the Doctor was stalking towards her with his eyes glued on her goblet.    
  
“Need a minute to catch my breath.” Rose held out his goblet as she took a long drink from her own. “You wanted me ta build my tolerance, ‘nd ‘m doin pretty good!” She watched as he took his and sipped.    
  
“You’re going to regret drinking this much in the morning.” The Doctor chuckled, but Rose just rolled her eyes. How could she regret this. Everything felt fun, loose, and giddy. To her delight, he drained the rest of his wine and plucked her goblet from his hand. “Next dance, and you can tell me why the travelers dancing isn’t appropriate for court.”    
  
Rose felt a bit like she was gliding as he spun her under his arm to clasp her hand behind his back and lead her in a circle. “Because, their dances aren’t all proper like this.” Hadn’t he ever seen the women dance before? They moved their whole bodies, especially their hips and stomachs. Their very exposed hips and stomachs that were covered by nothing more than coin adorned scarves would roll, ripple, and flex. The men always liked to watch. Reinette and Cassandra called them harlots, but the dancers never let the men touch them.    
  
“That isn’t explaining.” The Doctor chuckled, as he pulled her close enough to kiss before pushing her back gently to raise their palms up together. “Maybe you could demonstrate.” The suggestion made Rose laugh. This music was nothing like the drums, guitars, and tinkling bells they danced to. The rhythm wasn’t right, didn’t have that fire in it. Besides, she didn’t know if her body could move like that. “What’s funny? You brought it up, and now I want to know!”    
  
“The music’s wrong for it, ta.” Rose hummed as he spun her back to his chest for another turn that made her whole body feel lighter than air. “Needs drums, ‘nd guitars, ‘nd what are those little silver trays on the fingers.”    
  
“Cymbals.” The Doctor offered, releasing her with a grin. “And I think I may have....” he left her standing there feeling a bit dizzy but elated as he stopped the needle and began digging through those cylinders again. “Aha! When Rory turned twenty, Klom sent an entourage and they had some musicians and dancers. I liked the music, so I recorded it.” He slipped the cylinder on and restarted the needle. Rose laughed out loud as the song began. It wasn’t exactly like the travelers played, but it was surprisingly similar. “This work?”    
  
“Mmhmm...” Rose pushed him away as he reached for her again. “Nope, they don’’  dance with partners. Sit, have some wine!” She gave him a playful shove towards the couch as she tried to recall how their bodies had moved. The Doctor was pouring himself more wine, and she made her way around to stand in the space near the hearth. “Don’ laugh. ‘Ve never tried it before.”   
  
“Wouldn’t dream of it.” He lifted his goblet to his lips, and Rose shook her head and hands to clear the tingle in her fingers and the fuzzy apprehension in her mind. Then she drew a breath and gave an experimental twist of her hips. She didn’t think she was doing it quite right, but the Doctor’s jaw dropped. As she rolled her body like she had seen the women do, he drew in an audible gasp, and his eyes went wide like the men who always stopped to watch. Maybe she was doing it right. Encouraged by the way his gaze was glued to her movements, Rose continued.   
  
John realized he had made a mistake, a horrible mistake as Rose began to dance. He knew this type of dance, but not from travelers. Oh he’d seen it all right, in the pleasure houses Jack and he had visited when he was young, arrogant, and reckless. The only difference was Rose had no idea what kind of dance she was doing, and she was wearing entirely too many clothes than those women wore. Even so, her tight riding outfit was just as enticing, and his mouth was dry.    
  
He should have stopped her, but she was obviously enjoying herself. He took another deep swallow of wine to wet his tongue and throat, wondering if she would get upset or hurt if he told her to stop. John felt his body twitch in response, unable to tear his eyes away from her as she turned her back with another roll of her body from her neck to her thighs. It was entrancing, seeing her move like that, and he had to drink again.    
  
“‘M not very good.” Rose giggled, as she rocked back around, still moving to the seductive beat of the music. Did she really not know what kind of dance this was?    
  
“Looks brilliant to me.” His errant thoughts slipped past his lips before he could stop them. He slapped himself mentally, but Rose’s grin at his words was accompanied by another gyration of her lower body. Dancing lessons his arse, his woman was born for it. His trousers were growing uncomfortably tight, and he had no way to hide it except to lean forward and refill his goblet. That was a feat, because he couldn’t rip his eyes away from her body.    
  
“Ya think so?” Rose reached up to pull her loosely piled hair free of a comb, tossing it around her as she moved. John had to bite his jaw to resist the urge to jump up and tangle his hands in it. Instead he took another long drink, hoping the cool liquid would quench the heat racing through him. “‘S fun. I like the way the music sounds, like fire come to life.”    
  
“Oh I’m burning all right.” He mumbled as she rolled her neck in time with her hips. Suddenly she was in front of him, taking his goblet, tugging him up. “What are you doing?”    
  
“Dance with me, c’mon! ‘S fun!” Rose, bless her innocent ignorance seemed completely unaware of the effect she was having on John. Before he could react, she had pulled her hands to his hips. “Doctor, dance with me!” He was in trouble, so much trouble, because now his head was starting to feel a bit swimmy. The wine was mixing with his arousal, and though a small part of his brain screamed at him to slow down, his body needed to be against her.    
  
“You were right, this is definitely not court appropriate.” He snickered, pulling her in by her hips and moving his body with hers. “Rose, you do know what kind of dance this is, don’t you?”    
  
“A fun one.” She giggled, sliding her hands up to his neck as she rolled her stomach and hips against his. Couldn’t she feel him there, rock hard, pulsing, completely intoxicated by her presence?    
  
He was whispering before his tipsy brain could stop him. “It’s a dance of seduction, love.” John turned her to pull her back against his chest, splaying his fingers across the leather bustier. She pressed that supple rear back into him, and he groaned out of reflex. Rose froze for a moment, and he knew she could feel it now.    
  
“Hmmm, ‘nd I do it brilliantly do I?” The little minx gave a firm rock from side to side against him, and John was lost.  She may not have been trying to seduce him intentionally at first, but now her fingers were covering his, and she was looking back over her shoulder at him. Her hips circled again.    
  
“What do you think?” John lowered his lips to her neck, an area he’d never allowed himself to taste on her before. Kissing had otherwise been reserved for her lips or cheek. The pleased noise she made spurred him on. He trailed his lips up to her ear, catching it gently with his teeth. Rose’s skin was so sweet, and it made him shiver as she tilted her head to give him better access.    
  
Rose wasn’t sure what had happened, but the loose, happy feeling was changing inside of her. Sometimes, when the Doctor kissed her in bed, this feeling started, but never as strong. It never burned so fiercely in her core. It was a wild feeling, but it also grounded her. “Tha’ feels good.” She murmured, as he kissed along her neck. It shot sparks down her spine, making her head spin. She’d never felt the urge to kiss him so strongly before, so she turned in his arms.    
  
The Doctor’s lips were on hers before she even got her hands up to his hair. They kissed quite often, but this was different. The embers burning low in her abdomen fanned down to her thighs, making her shudder in delight. Their tongues met for a brief dance, and Rose was overcome with a need to feel his skin. She dragged her hands down to his shirt, fumbling for the buttons. She managed to get three undone before his hands were loosening the strings at the back of her bustier.    
  
The Doctor’s teeth nipped gently at her lower lip, and Rose sighed. Her whole body felt like it was on fire in the most delicious way, and when she managed to get his shirt undone enough to touch his chest, he gave a throaty groan. Then his lips were on her neck again. The sensation made her knees weak, and she flames hotter. “‘S so hot.” She whispered, bringing her hands down to rip open the clasps of her bustier to get some relief.    
  
“Oh yes.” The Doctor’s voice was low and husky, even in those two syllables, and something in the tone had her yearning for his fingers all over her skin. Rose couldn’t keep her eyes open, overwhelmed by everything she was feeling, but she heard his shirt join her abandoned bustier on the floor. “Come here.”    
  
Rose gasped as she was lifted by her hips, and she opened her eyes as she was placed on the edge of the bed. The Doctor  was indeed shirtless before her, eyes dark in a thrilling way, as he pushed her back. The room spun as he slid her boots off, tossing them aside. “Kiss me again!” Oh how she loved the way his lips felt on hers, on her neck, on her jaw. She loved him. The thought made her heart swell   
  
John was a bit in awe that this was happening. Rose was flushed, lips parted and panting, eyes blazing with desire. This wasn’t how he expected the day to end, but he wasn’t complaining. Her lips were like velvet under his, soft, warm, and yielding so perfectly as her hands trailed along his back. “You’re so perfect.” He murmured, aching to push her shirt up. He had sworn he’d never do this again, but this was Rose. He was absolutely powerless to resist her pull on him.   
  
“So’re you.” She groaned, her lips pressing into his shoulder. Between them, she tugged at her tunic top. “Off, need it off.” John pulled away to help her yank it over her head, and when she fell back to the sheets he felt himself pulse.    
  
Rose’s bare chest was absolutely gorgeous, her breasts moving as she breathed heavily. They tasted as silky and sweet as they looked, when he caught the right one between his lips. She gave a soft cry, arching up into him, and John couldn’t stand the discomfort of his pants any longer. His boots had been abandoned with hers, so it was so simple to undo his belt and shimmy them down. “Your turn.” He chuckled, as he released her with a wet pop.    
  
“Please!” Rose was on fire, and the chilly air that accompanied her riding pants being pulled down her legs was magical. She was disappointed he wasn’t paying attention to her exposed chest, because that had felt amazing, but the disappointment didn’t last long. The Doctor’s lips returned, and his hand cupped her other one. She had never felt anything so marvelous in her life, even if the sounds he was causing her to make were so foreign on her tongue.   
  
She couldn’t get enough of touching his bare back, arms, and chest. He was so beautiful, so perfect, and his skin tasted like heaven when she closed her lips over his neck. Something was happening, but she couldn’t figure out what. Her mind was struggling to make connections, too hazy to do it. Between her thighs, a warm dampness was forming, and there was a need she’d never felt overpowering her thoughts. “I feel...” her words were cut off by a jolt of pleasure that shot up her spine. “Oh my gods!”    
  
Something long, thick, and hard brushed between her thighs, parting her folds, spreading the sticky juices pooling there. It slid back, shooting that pleasure through her again. The Doctor was kissing up her chest to her neck. “Are you sure?” His whisper was panted and slurred.    
  
Was she sure of what? He rocked over her again. Rose couldn’t think. Her hands drifted blindly down, as her eyes were too heavy with wine and pleasure to open, and she felt his bare length trapped between them. It hit her then, the realization clawing past the haze. A seductive dance, kissing, naked, in the bed, was she sure? “John...” Rose felt a stab of uncertainty, quickly followed by fear that twisted her stomach.   
  
What if she said yes, and he wanted nothing to do with her after? What if he only wanted her for this? What if this was what he had been playing at all along? Hadn’t he implied he’d had multiple women when he was at court? Was this why he’d given her so much wine? All of those questions burst into her like a storm. Tears stung her eyes, and she tried to speak, to ask, but all she managed was “John...” before her stomach rolled again.   
  
John knew the instant Rose froze under him that he’d gone too far. As tipsy as he was, as drunk on the taste and feel of her bare skin beneath him, he knew that she wasn’t ready. Oh her body was, that was evident from the slick juices coating his length, but she wasn’t ready. Guilt coursed through him, stronger than any he’d ever felt, and he stumbled to the side.  What had he done? She was drunk, and he’d almost.... “Oh, gods, Rose I’m so sorry!” Even through the cloud the wine and desire had muddled his mind with, he knew this had been wrong.   
  
“I think ‘m gonna be sick!” Rose yelped, and John was moving. He scooped her into his arms and stumbled into the ensuite, holding her hair back as she emptied her stomach into the toilet. “‘M sorry.” She gasped, tears rolling down her cheek. “I shouldnt’ve-“ her words were cut off again as she retched again.    
  
“No, It’s my fault.” John left her only long enough to wet a rag and bring it back to wipe her face. He could throw himself off the clock tower for being so stupid. He should have stopped himself, not gotten caught up in what was going on. Rose was  sobbing, blubbering incoherent words and slurred apologies. “No, no, love. It’s not your fault.”    
  
“I don’t wanna be your mistress.” Those amber eyes were so glassy and full of hurt as they met his. “I love you, but I don’ jus’ wanna be with you for sex.” John felt his heart stutter in shock and even more guilt. Shock, because Rose had said she loved him, and guilt because he had said or done something to make her feel like he viewed her as nothing more than that. His arousal was long gone, and even with her naked before him it didn’t return.    
  
“Oh, Rose.” John pulled her to him, cradling Rose in his arms. “I’d never want you as a mistress.” He kissed her brow as she sobbed into his shoulder. “Because I love you too. I shouldn’t have let it get so far. It’s my fault.” Carefully, he stood and scooped her up to carry her back to the bed. “Let me get you some clothes, and I’ll sleep in the other room.”   
  
“You don’t wanna sleep in here with me?” Rose’s voice sounded so uncertain, as John dug one of his sleep shirts out to carefully pull it over her head and arms. It would be best to sleep apart, to give her room to sober up and calm down, but those red-rimmed topaz eyes were staring  up at him. “You always sleep with me.”    
  
“Rose, I almost...” John couldn’t get the words out. She was going to hate him in the morning, he knew it. “Why would you want me to stay?” He was a moron, a lecher, why had he let this go so far? “You should be furious with me.”    
  
“‘S my fault.” Rose was feeling completely befuddled. Why was he apologizing? She’d started it, hadn’t she? Her head was spinning, and her thoughts were sluggish. She couldn’t completely connect who had started what. “John, I don’t feel so good.” The intense burning feeling was gone, replaced by an urge to just curl up and sleep. She just wanted him to hold her. She wasn’t angry, not when he had said he loved her. Couldn’t he figure that out by her using his name?    
  
“Here, sweetheart, lie down.” The Doctor was easing her gently to her pillow, carefully pulling back the blankets to cover her up. “Let me turn off the light’ and I’ll be right back.” It only felt like a blink before the room was lit only by the fire and his arms were sliding around her again. “It’s not your fault. I’m supposed to keep you safe, and I let you drink way too much.”    
  
“Don’t wanna argue.” Rose’s empty stomach ached, and she was too sleepy to refute his statements. “Jus’ hold me for a bit.” The world didn’t jerk and spin so much when the Doctor was snuggled up so firmly to her back. Why had she been so afraid of him in the first place? He loved her. “Sweet dreams, Doctor.”   
  
“Sweet dreams, Rose.” His fingers over her waist laced with hers on her stomach, and Rose sighed in contentment as her mind spun into darkness.    
  
John knew he shouldn’t fall asleep, knew he should slip out now that Rose was completely out of it. Yet he couldn’t move away from her. Rose had asked him to stay, but what would happen in the morning? How could he have been so stupid? It struck him, the delayed realization filling him with even more guilt, that Rose was more than likely a virgin.    
  
She hadn’t known what was going on, and yet he’d let her touches, her lips, and her pleas lure him in. If she hadn’t froze under him, not said she was sure, he’d have taken the leap. John was so thankful he had maintained the wherewithal to pause and ask if she was okay with it. He tried to unwrap from around her, but Rose’s limp fingers tightened and she gave a whimper of his name. “Shhhh, love. I’m right here.” He couldn’t resist her when she used his real name. So, John heaved a sigh and closed his eyes. Hopefully he’d awaken before she did.    
  
  



	15. Chapter 15

Rose groaned as the sun stirred her from sleep. Her head was pounding, mouth dry and thick, and her entire body felt weak and shaky. She tried to open her eyes, but the light only served to make it worse. To top it off, she was cold. “Doctor?” She rolled over, almost regretting it as her stomach clenched painfully. Blindly, she fumbled one trembling hand for him. His usual spot was empty.    
  
That wasn’t a surprise, as he was often up before her. Yet, she didn’t feel well at all, and she was hoping he was there. She needed a glass of water and something for her head and stomach. Wincing, she fumbled for the blankets she had obviously kicked off and froze as her hands met her bare thighs. “What the...” Rose had to force her eyes open, squinting at how bright the sun lit the room, and looked down. Why was she in the Doctor’s shirt instead of one of her night gowns? “Doctor?!” She called out again, sitting up. The room wavered around her, and her stomach churned and gnawed. When had she even gone to bed? The last thing she remembered was the Doctor putting on music.    
  
Tardis thumped her way into the room from the hall, and Rose blinked at her. “Go find the Doctor, girl. Don’t feel well.” At her croak, Tardis spun and headed down the hall. She was trying to remember why she felt so horrible, why the light from the sun was so torturous, when another throb from her head shot straight through to her stomach. She stumbled from the bed, staggering across the floor, stumbled into the wall, and barely made it to the ensuite before she fell to her knees by the toilet and began heaving up foam and bile.    
  
As Rose whimpered, waiting for the next wave of whatever stomach illness had afflicted her, a memory creeped it’s way in. She had been right there last night, naked, while an equally nude Doctor had held her hair back and wiped her face. Why had they been naked? Another flash came as her empty stomach gave another frothy heave. They had been kissing, clothes had come off, the bed had been so soft under her back as the Doctor crawled over her, and his lips and fingers had been absolutely wonderful on her breasts and skin. His hard length had been sliding against her. She couldn’t remember what happened between that and being sick. Had they made love?    
  
Rose felt panic join the sick feeling, as she stumbled to her feet to blink into the mirror over the wash basin. Her makeup from yesterday was smeared, and a small reddish purple mark was vibrant against her neck. “Oh no...” She rinsed her mouth out, trying to calm herself. If they had made love, why hadn’t he stayed until she woke up? Why did she feel so horrible? Why couldn’t she remember anything but hazy flashes? What if they had, and now he was regretting it and avoiding her?    
  
She staggered back into the room, holding her head as her body begged her to lie back down. She had just plopped down onto the disheveled sheets when the Doctor appeared holding a food tray. “I’d say good morning, but it’s already noon.” He smiled. Rose wanted to smile back, but she was too terrified. “Brought you some soup and bread for your stomach, and some lots of water.” He looked a bit more fidgety than normal, anxious and his smile wasn’t exactly reaching his eyes.    
  
“Doctor.” Rose’s voice caught and she coughed to clear it, fighting back tears. “Wha’ happened last night? We were naked, ‘nd kissin’, and I remember being sick. Did we...” she couldn’t get the question out. They must have, given how he was avoiding he eyes as he set the tray down on the nightstand. “Did we make, Did we have.” She didn’t know how to phrase the fear in her heart.   
  
“No, we didn’t make love.” The Doctor settled down beside her, his voice nervous and hesistant as he handed her a large goblet of water. “Very nearly, though, but you were quite drunk, and I’m so, so sorry I let it go as far as it did.” Rose took the goblet, chancing a glance over at him. His face was twisted in guilt. “I shouldn’t have even put my hands on you in such a state. I understand if you hate me.”    
  
Another flash came to her mind. The Doctor braced over her, asking if she was sure. Then he was wiping her face again, apologizing, calling himself a moron and an idiot under his breath. There had been sobbed confessions on her part. “Did I say anything last night?” She whispered, as her fear gave way to embarrassment. She thought she had, but everything was a blur.    
  
“You said you didn’t want to be my mistress.” The Doctor’s hands were trembling as they reached up to wipe a tear that had escaped her eye. “And, Rose, if I’ve ever done anything to make you feel like that’s all I want from you, I’m so, so sorry. Because that isn’t what I want from you at all.” She sipped slowly, letting the cold spring water soothe her dry throat. He hadn’t ever done anything, why had she thought that?    
  
“I didn’t say anythin’ else?” Rose needed to know if the memory was real or a dream. His cheeks flushed, as he looked down, and Rose knew it wasn’t a dream.    
  
“Yes, but you were drunk, and I’m sure you didn’t mean it.”    
  
“But I did mean it.” Rose’s stomach clenched, but not out of feeling sick. Had he said it back? She couldn’t remember. “If you don’t feel-“    
  
“I love you too.” His eyes met hers, full of honesty and yet a little hesitation. Why was he so nervous? He wasn’t the one who got completely wasted the night before. “And I’m sorry I almost took advantage of you last night. I promise I’m not like that. Please don’t be angry-“   
  
“I was only going ta be upset if we had and I couldn’ remember.” Rose set her goblet aside as she leaned her throbbing head against his arm. It felt so perfect, brought so much relief to her when he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her into his lap. She snuggled into him, closing her eyes against the light. “I do love you, John.”   
  
“Still trying to figure out why.” Honestly he didn’t know. John knew why he loved her. She was clever, wonderful, funny, kind, and sweet. Not to mention each day she grew more and more beautiful, even hung over and crying. He had no clue what she saw in him, with his horrible past and isolated future. “You need to eat, and then I’ll run you a bath.” He had slept pretty late himself, only waking up an hour or so before Rose did. He’d known she’d feel horrible, which was why he’d made her breakfast, or maybe it was lunch. It didn’t matter. She loved him, and she wasn’t furious at him for the night before.    
  
“Don’ wanna move right now.” Her lips brushed his neck as she murmured, sending pleasant tingles down his spine. John suppressed a chuckle. He still remembered his first hangover. “Everythin’ is all achy, ‘nd ta be honest. You’ve spoiled me a bit with letting me rest when I don’ feel good.”    
  
“Trust me, love, you’ll feel loads better when you eat and bathe. I’ve been there.” John grinned as Rose shivered and ran her fingers down his chest. She pulled her head back to look at him with a nervous smile.    
  
“I always trust you, Doctor.” Her words were followed by a brush of a kiss to his cheek. John felt his cheeks flush, and he squeezed her gently before shifting her back to the sheets. Leaning past her, he picked up the tray and eased it onto her lap. “Thank you.”    
  
While she ate, he excused himself to her room to get her something warm to change into. It wasn’t snowing for a change, but a bitter wind was blowing from the north, turning the corridors a bit more drafty and chilly than usual. When he returned, Rose had eaten some of her food and finished off her water. “I think we’ll skip wine for the rest of the day.” He chuckled, trying not to make her think he was insulting her. “Let me run the bath.” He laid her clothes on the bed, moving to the ensuite to put the plug into the drain and fill the tub with some of the bath oils Jack had sent up for her and hot water.    
  
“Mmmm smells amazin’.” John turned to find Rose shuffling in. Honestly, he didn’t think she’d ever looked more enticing than the way she did in one of his shirts. He’d never been the possessive sort when it came to women before, but it stroked his ego just a bit to know that no other man had had the opportunity to see that sight.    
  
“Thought the lavender might help relax you.” He offered, leaning down to kiss her brow as he started out. Her hand caught his gently, stopping him. “What’s the matter?” Rose was blushing in a way he’d never seen on her before. It was absolutely breath taking, even in her bedraggled state.    
  
“Nothin’.” She murmured, biting her lip as she looked up at him. “‘S just... that tub is big enough for two.” John felt his heart stutter to a brief pause, and when it started back up it was racing. “You could, I dunno, join me if you want.” That blush deepened all the way down her neck and up to her ears. “You don’ have to. Was jus’ a suggestion.”    
  
“Oh I want to.” John hooked a finger under her chin, as she looked back down at the floor. He lifted her face up, searching her eyes for any signs of doubt or hesitation. “Do you want me to?”    
  
“Wouldn’t have asked if I didn’t.” There it was, his favorite smile. It lit up the room, and he released her chin to walk over and shut the door. Yes, they were alone, but there was something immensely more intimate about the door being shut. “‘M starting to remember some things from last night. Some really brilliant things.” Stars help him, Rose dragged his shirt over her head, and his jaw hit the floor. She was just as beautiful as last night, only now she had a red mark on her neck and right breast. His mark. He’d put them there.    
  
“Get in.” The Doctor’s voice was low and husky, and it filled Rose with a warmth low in her belly. She was more than a bit nervous about what was occurring, but not scared. She stepped into the water, watching as he stripped out of his coat and kicked his boots aside. By the time she’d lowered herself into the soothing water, the Doctor’s shirt had been tossed away and his trousers and pants were being pushed down.    
  
Rose was absolutely entranced by the long, lean body now exposed to her. He wasn’t muscular like a knight or soldier, but years of working with heavy metals, of walking endless paths up and down stairs, and managing the castle all on his own had left him lithe, fit, and tone. He was absolutely beautiful, as he moved towards her. She could also see his arousal stirring, half hard as he slipped into the water behind her. A vaguely familiar heat, not caused by the water began to bloom inside of her. She sighed as his arms wrapped around her waist, pulling her back to his chest. “Mmmm this is nice.” She hummed, resting her head back against his shoulder.    
  
“Just nice?” The Doctor chuckled, and then he pressed a kiss to her hair. Like always, it sent happy tingles down her spine, but this time they fanned that growing warmth. “Bit of an understatement, Rose Tyler.” Why did her name have to sound so fantastic rolling off his tongue.   
  
“Well You haven’t given me that dictionary, so I don’ know any other fancy words.” Rose was teasing, and the Doctor tickled her sides as he squeezed her. She was immensely curious about exactly what had transpired the night before, because her body seemed to remember enjoying his fingers on her skin. “So, Doctor, mind refreshing my memory on how I got these two marks?” The half erection against her back surged to full strength, making her core clench in an anticipation she didn’t know she possessed.    
  
“Afraid I got a little too eager when you took your shirt off.” The Doctor’s lips traveled down to the one on her neck. Rose recalled a sensation, his lips and against her breasts. It made her already heavy lids drift half shut. She wasn’t quite ready to make that full step, but blimey it felt perfect to be skin on skin with him. His tongue curled along her ear, and Rose had to moan and tip her neck to give him better access. “That’s exactly what you did last night too.”    
  
She should have been nervous, but Rose knew that he would only take it as far as she allowed. Right then, her body was practically screaming to feel his fingers on it. “‘Nd the one here?” Rose lifted a hand to her chest, earning her a chuckle of approval from the Doctor. “I seem to remember really, really enjoyin’ your lips here.”    
  
“Rose?” The Doctor’s lips brushed her ear as he spoke. “Can I ask you a personal question, love?”    
  
“Doctor, ‘m currently naked in your arms. How much more personal can it get?” Rose had no idea what he was going to ask, but she had nothing to hide. She never had anything to hide from him. He’d seen her at her absolute lowest, and yet he loved her. She didn’t understand why, but she believed he did love her.    
  
“Well...” he drew the word out, as his hands drew circles along her stomach. “It doesn’t matter how you answer, because I want you regardless.” Rose groaned as his fingers trailed up to rest just below her breasts. “But are you a virgin?”    
  
“Mmmhmmm.” Rose almost laughed at the question. Nobody had ever even looked twice at her, and she’d never been attracted to anybody but him. “That a bad thing?”   
  
“Nope.” The Doctor chuckled, and his lips closed over her shoulder. “Can I touch you?” Rose couldn’t believe he was asking, even after she had invited him into the tub. It made her feel bold, more empowered than she ever had, and she grabbed his right hand and pulled it up to her breast. “Kiss me.” He groaned, pressing into her back, and Rose turned her head to offer her lips with a moan.    
  
John had never felt something so glorious in his life. Rose’s heart was pounding under his hand as their lips met, and he could feel her thighs shifting together when he caressed and squeezed her supple breasts. Knowing for certain she was a virgin put a bit of a kink in his plans. He wasn’t about to have her first time like this, in a tub, but there were plenty of other firsts he could give her.    
  
With her permission, he let himself again explore her body. John was absolutely enthralled by her shape, but the way she shifted and pressed up into his palms. The movements were providing him with delicious friction, but not enough to drive him to the edge. He had somewhat expected his Rose to be shy, hesitant, but he loved how bold she was. Her hands were tangling in his hair and running down his thighs. “I need...” The breathless tone that broke from her lips across his made him pulse against her lower back. “I need, John, touch me.”    
  
“I am.” He chuckled, but he knew what his love needed. “But I think you mean...” He dipped his fingers between her thighs, gently teasing her soft curls. To his delight, Rose mewled in delight, and she began pushing his hand closer while tugging his lips down to hers again. “Here.” Teasingly, he slipped his middle finger between her folds, finding that yearning bud at her apex, and he growled his approval as she jerked at the touch.    
  
“Yes!” Rose’s cry was beautiful as she broke from the kiss to toss her head back against his chest. “Feels amazin’.”    
  
“Just wait.” John cupped her breast with his free hand, as he began teasing circles against that delicious bundle of nerves. Rose was trembling against him, making the most delightful sounds, and even in the water he could feel how slick and hot she was. “Yes, love, just feel it.” It was taking ever ounce of his resolve to not just spin her around and thrust up into her dripping center. That would come later, but for now, he wanted to make her come undone.    
  
“Please don’ stop.” John had absolutely no intention to, but he could tell each press, circle, and flick of his fingers and thumbs were driving her closer to the edge. He was desperate to see her climax,  and the feel of her bare skin against his back had him pulling her tighter against him.    
  
“Don’t fight it, Rose.” The Doctor’s voice was both soothing and commanding in a way that had Rose’s already dizzy mind spinning more. Her whole body was electrified, pleasure like nothing else she’d ever felt washing through her. There was a tension forming low in her core, filling her with the urge to writhe and jerk.    
  
She couldn’t though, as he was holding her back flush to his front. Rose’s heart began to thrum harder, faster, as her head spun more. She couldn’t help but dig her nails into his forearm and thigh, gasping for breath. Suddenly, the coil snapped, and Rose was drowning in sensations she couldn’t begin to describe. Stars danced across her vision, oceans roaring in her ears, and she bucked up hard, crying out his name.    
  
It was wonderful, beyond amazing, and the Doctor was kissing her neck, slowing his circles, Rose couldn’t think, could barely breathe, as she came slowly back to herself. “You are so beautiful.” The Doctor moaned in her ear. “Did you enjoy that?”   
  
“Yes!” Rose turned, not caring as the water splashed. “I never knew it could be so... so...” at a loss for words, she kissed him. She couldn’t contain how amazing she felt, as his hard length felt against her thighs.    
  
“Perfect?” John managed to groan between two presses of their lips. “Me either.” Oh he’d pleasured women in his youth before, but Rose was different. Watching her, feeling her, hearing her, and making her come undone had him dangerously close to the edge. “I love you.”    
  
“Teach me how to do that to you.” Rose’s hand was trailing down his chest, and John had to keep himself from rutting against her. He should say no, let her enjoy her first orgasm in full. “John, I want to.” He was powerless to deny her as soon as her thumb brushed the tip of his hard length. “I love you. Show me how.”    
  
“Hold it like this.” John nearly lost himself as she closed all her fingers around him. Gasping, he reached down until only her first two fingers and thumbs encircled him. “Now slide up and down with a bit of a twist.” He guided her hand for a few strokes, but soon she shook it off and moved on her own.    
  
He fought to keep himself upright, eyes open, but Rose’s mouth was insistent on his. Their tongues met for a brief twirl, as his clever girl made him jerk. She’d circled the tip with her thumb before resuming. “‘S been so long.” He panted, buck it into her touch. “Not gonna last. Don’t stop, Rose. You’re doing brilliant!” And she was. John hadn’t felt anything as wonderful in his life.   
  
Rose’s eyes were burning so wildly John couldn’t think. He was so close, as each stroke, each kiss, each needy noise she mad tightened the spring low in his belly. “Get the rag!” He managed to shout, not wanting to messy the water. Rose, bless her a thousand fold, grabbed it with her free hand. He snatched it, trying to fight, to draw it out, but two more pumps and he was surging to his feet to catch it in the soft cloth.    
  
His knees nearly buckled as his vision swam, and Rose’s talented fingers coaxed every drop from him. “Blimey, woman.” He managed to choke out as he sank into the water again, pulling her onto his lap, the messy cloth discarded. John had never imagined he could be this satisfied. He also knew no other woman would ever be able to make him feel that way either. “Feel free to repeat that anytime.” He squeezed her tightly, giggling a bit at the tiny shudders still rocking down his spine.   
  
“John,” Rose sighed, feeling extraordinarily pleased with herself in a way she couldn’t describe. The whole room seemed immensely lighter, and the headache that had begun fading before the bath had started was gone. “Can we do this again later... maybe in the bed or on the sofa?” She wasn’t ready for more immediately, but she definitely wanted to feel it all again.    
  
“Rose, we can do this anytime and anywhere you want.” The Doctor sounded just as content and amazed as she felt, and Rose preened. She had done that to him, and she knew that he would never let another woman even come close enough to try. “I’m yours, love.”    
  
“And I’m yours.” Rose couldn’t resist catching his lips for another kiss.


	16. Chapter 16

John stared down at the letter on his desk. Rose was in the other room dressing for their journey to the Capitol. It had been two and a half weeks of nothing but easy happiness since they’d begun crossing the lines to a truly physical relationship. He hadn’t actually made love to her yet, because he wanted her to be fully sure that he loved her. Now he was going to have a chance to prove it.    
  
Her mother was alive, at the castle in Leadworth, indentured as a laundry maid. She only had one more month until her tax debt was paid off, but John was going to pay it for her. Then he was going to ask her blessing to propose. He crumbled the letter, tossing it into the fire. He wasn’t going to tell Rose, not yet. He wanted it to be a surprise, for their reunion to be one where they shared freedom. “Mi’lord.” One of the coachmen King Brian had sent to fetch them spoke from the door. “Yours and Lady Rose’s trunks have been loaded. Are you ready.”    
  
“We’ll be down shortly.” The man disappeared, and John shrugged his coat on. Normally he would ride to the castle on horse back, but since Rose was joining him, he’d requested a coach to keep her warm against the winter air. He came into the hall, finding Rose coming out of the other room pulling her own coat closed around her. Tardis was at her side. “There’s my girls.”    
  
“Sorry it took so long. Tardis kept stealing my boots.” Rose chuckled as the wolf gave a grinding whine. “Don’ think she likes us leavin’.” He had explained to Rose why Tardis stayed behind, but the wolf didn’t understand. “Sorry, girl, but we’ll be back soon. I promise.”    
  
“She knows.” John patted Tardis’ metal snout, as he extended his elbow to Rose. “As soon as the wedding is over, we’ll come right back. You be a good girl and keep an eye on things.” He had already made sure her coal room was full and that the faucet for her water was functioning. “And don’t be seen.”    
  
“‘M gonna miss her while we’re gone.” Rose sighed as they made their way down the stairs. She was a bit anxious for the trip, but she wasn’t scared. The Doctor had already reassured her she’d been included on his RSVP letter, and that he had sent her measurements ahead to a seamstress he knew to make some clothes more suitable for the wedding.    
  
She didn’t like him spending so much money on her, but she didn’t want to embarrass him by not looking appropriate either. “Mi’lady, Mi’lord.” The footman bowed as they approached the massive carriage, and Rose had to bite her lip. She’d already explained she wasn’t a lady, but apparently they hadn’t listened.    
  
“In you get love.” The Doctor held her back and arm lightly as she climbed into the interior. It was cold inside, but not as bad as the biting winds. She settled onto the seats, while he joined her with a smile. “Bit chilly in here though. There should be...” he reached under the seat and produced a folded blanket. “Aha, here Rose.” He unfolded it with a smile, draping it over her.    
  
“Thanks.” Rose tucked it around her as she leaned into his side. With a jerk, the four horses pulled the carriage into motion. “Doctor, how come the footman and driver keep calling me ‘mi’lady’? I told them ‘m not one.”    
  
“Well, you’re traveling with me, as an invited guest of the Royal family.” John draped his arm behind her. It was easy to forget that Rose was unaccustomed to being treated as a free woman by anyone but him, and that she didn’t understand the courtesies that came with being courted by a Lord. Not that he truly considered himself titled. “They’re going to give you the same honors they’d give anybody else.”    
  
“Makes me uncomfortable is all.” Rose looked down at her hands, and John held back a sigh. “‘M never gonna be a Lady.”    
  
“Oh, never say never.” John danced his fingers along her shoulder, hoping to keep her from falling into her shell. If she was tensing up now, she’d be a mess at Court. It took a few seconds, but soon she was giggling and squirming. “Who knows, you may meet a handsome Lord at Court and decide to run away and marry him.” He was only teasing her, and sure enough she rolled her eyes.   
  
He would be lying, though, if he didn’t worry that she might find someone else once she had been exposed to life outside of his castle. Rose was beautiful, smart, funny, and genuinely goodhearted. John knew there were a few men between their ages that would definitely be trying to woo her away.    
  
“There’s only one ‘Lord’-“ Rose snuggled into the Doctor’s side, snagging his tickling hand with hers and pulling it around to kiss his fingers. “That I want, so no worries about me elopin’ with a stranger.” She knew he was teasing, but she had to admit she was a bit worried. He was different than he had been, since he had started to forgive himself. What if he met someone more his stature, someone smarter, prettier, and titled? “Who’s to say you won’t run off and leave me.”    
  
“Never.” John hooked a finger under Rose’s chin, tilting her face up. “There’s only one woman for me, and I’m lucky enough to already share my home with her.” He loved watching her cheeks flush, even under her makeup. They’d been so busy packing, shutting down the castle, and preparing for the trip the last three days, that they hadn’t really kissed or shared anything else. “I love you, Rose Tyler. Don’t forget that.”    
  
“And I love you, Doctor. Don’t you forget it either.” Rose sighed as his lips met hers. She hadn’t realized how much a couple days of being busy could make her miss this, but it had. Alone, in the quiet interior of the carriage, their soft hums of contentment and damp sounds of their lips moving had her feeling quite warm under the blanket and her thick dress.    
  
She nipped playfully at his lower lip, earning herself a throaty moan as the Doctor turned on their bench seat and slid his hands slowly up her sides. “How long is the ride down the mountain?” She murmured, gliding her hands up His neck to tangle her fingers in his perfectly soft hair.    
  
“About five hours.” John had been trying to keep their kiss deep, but not push it towards more. Rose obviously had other intentions, which he absolutely did not mind at all. Although it may prove complicated with the small space and her dress. “You’ll have to be very, very quiet.” That was one thing about his precious girl, she always made the most deliciously delightful sounds, and sometimes those sounds were quite enthusiastic.    
  
“I can be quiet.” Rose giggled, as she caught his lower lip in a soft caress and scraped her nails lightly against his scalp. She had already discovered exactly what she could do to have her Doctor hard and yearning. Her favorite was simply standing in the door to his planning lab and letting her dress hit the floor. There was something inexplicably arousing about watching him shove his blueprints off the table so she could sit there and drape her legs over his shoulder. The Doctor’s tongue was magical, as were his fingers when they slipped inside of her. She’d been craving them all morning.    
  
“Better close these.” John was already growing hard in his heavy trousers, and Rose licking and sucking her way down his neck was only spurring him on. He reached past her to pull the blinds on the windows down, and groaned as her talented hand dropped straight to his lap and stroked him through the material. “Just like that.” Rose was beyond skilled at satisfying his needs, but he had learned she liked when he praised her, complimented her techniques. He always put her pleasure first, but sometimes when he’d been particularly vocal towards her during his own she was ready for another turn.    
  
The inside of the carriage was quite dim now, but Rose could still see enough of the Doctor to make her whole body shiver. She didn’t know how he was capable of looking at her with so much love and adoration, while at the same time buck his hips up into her hand with a quiet growl. She stroked his hard length again, using her other hand to get his trousers untied. “Uh uh, ladies first.” He always did that, turned the attention back on her.    
  
“‘M not a lady.” Rose quipped, shifting out of his arms to kneel on the floor. It wasn’t exactly easy, but she managed it. He groaned as she wrapped her lips around the thick material of his trousers, and she giggled as he bucked slightly up. Then, with little difficulty, she dipped her fingers into the opening and pulled him free.   
  
“Not yet at least.” John managed go gasp as Rose’s tongue dragged up the underside of his shaft. She must not have registered his words, because she didn’t respond. Instead those perfect lips wrapped around the tip with a tantalizing suck. It took everything he had to be silent, after weeks of being as loud as they wanted. “Yes, just like that.” He wanted to grab her hair, but settled for her shoulders instead.   
  
Rose preened as she curled her first two fingers and thumb around his base, tightening her lips to take him halfway into her mouth. The first time she had done this, she had been so nervous. The Doctor had eagerly instructed her on how to do it, and by the third time, it had come naturally. She did enjoy when he praised her technique though, as it made her feel sultry and powerful. She gave a twisting pump with her fingers as she sucked lightly and slid her lips back to the tip only to take him deeper into her mouth with a hum of delight. The already building warmth in her core began to grow damp and heated between her thighs.   
  
“Perfect, love, keep going.” John could barely think as Rose worked him. He kept his words to a whisper, trying not to thrust further into her heavenly mouth. He swallowed a yelp of surprise and need, when she took him fully into her throat and added just the perfect amount of pressure with her teeth. Those stunning eyes flicked up at him as she swallowed once, before dragging her lips and teeth with expert skill up only to press her tongue against him and slide back down again.    
  
Rose shivered with delight, not cold, as the Doctor began giving short bucks up into her. She relaxed her tongue and throat, hollowing her cheeks with a suck as she stroked him. His ragged breaths only spurred on the growing dampness pooling low in her curls. She had been long since ready to give herself to him fully, but for now this was enough. She stroked him again, as he thrusts stilled, and she began moving her lips and tongue with a purpose.    
  
“You’re so good at that, my beautiful girl. Don’t stop.” John let his head fall back, as Rose switched from teasing to that eager desire to satisfy him. Each press of her tongue, intent suck as she slid up his length, and stroke of her fingers served to drive him closer to the edge. All of that paired with the thought that there were three people outside, totally oblivious to what was going on, made it even more intense. The coil was already tightening low in his body. “So close, my Rose, you’re so perfect.”    
  
The Doctor was definitely nearing release. He always babbled when he was, and Rose needed to taste him on her tongue with a fervency. She began working him faster, squeezing her fingers and twisting as she stroked. She pressed her tongue tighter against his firm but silky skin, sucking eagerly, making the hungry, yearning noises she knew he loved. He began jerking under her again, tiny arches to push his length slightly deeper, his hands flying to the back of her head. Rose groaned around him, rubbing her thighs to seek friction as he began a whispered string of incoherent words. Then he thrust up again, giving a strangled hiss, as his release began coating her tongue. Giggling at how fast she had undone him, Rose stroked him as she swallowed.    
  
John had nearly shouted, but he caught himself. His climax was pounding in his chest and roaring in his ears as he held Rose still. The first time, he tried to pull her away, but she apparently enjoyed his taste, as well as when he held her there until it was completed. Each milking stroke and swallowing suck drew everything he had, and Rose’s muffled giggles had him twitching as he gasped for air. “Blimey, woman, you keep getting better at that.” With a gasp, he nudged her back to sit on the other bench seat, and tucked himself away. Rose was watching him with yearning eyes and that tongue touched smile. “Your turn.”    
  
Rose swallowed a yelp as the Doctor shot across the gap between to kiss her deeply. Her giggles dissolved into pleading sighs as his tongue swirled around hers, his hands sliding up her bodice to squeeze her breasts through the layers of material. She was long past aroused, bordering on a desperate need for release. “Please, John. Need you.” She gasped as he shoved the collar of her dress down to curl his tongue along the base of her throat.    
  
“As my Lady desires.” John broke free of Rose’s silken neck to drop to his knees. He smirked down at the pile of skirts, for once thankful of his youthful explorations. He’d yet to expose Rose to how much more intense it was when she couldn’t see what he was doing, and he really hoped she’d stay quiet. “Shhhh.” He reminded her, before grabbing the front portion of her dress and pushing it up to her lap. Then he pushed her knees apart, sliding his fingers up to the band of her knickers. “Lift.” He chuckled, pulling them down to her ankles as she did, and slid them free to set them aside. Then he lifted her supple thighs over his shoulders. The bunched material of her skirts blocked any view of her face, but that was fine. Smirking, he slipped a finger between her soaked curls and groaned at how ready she was.    
  
Rose couldn’t see what he was doing, but she could feel it. At first she had been upset that she couldn’t watch, but the surprise that accompanied his soft touch amplified the pleasure. She had to stay quiet, but it was hard as his nimble fingers parted her folds and stroked her. “John-“ she managed to murmur, eyes fluttering shut, but he cut her off with a warning growl. That growl was followed by his expert tongue laving against her. She clutched at her dress, arching up into his delightful mouth. Then he gave a soft suck that shot pleasure straight up her spine.    
  
John loved the way Rose tasted. He had become addicted the very first time he’d tossed her onto their bed and caught the sweet but tangy nectar on his tongue. He could remember how embarrassed she had been at first, but how that had given way to her tugging at his hair and mewling for more. The lingering fear of losing her never plagued him when they were doing this, because all he could think about was making her come undone. He groaned in delight as she pressed up into his mouth, and he slid one hand along her thigh, fingers seeking her dripping center as he flicked his tongue against that pulsing bud between his lips. Rose whimpered shifting a bit lower on the seat, and he eagerly slipped one finger into her velvet heat.    
  
Rose had to clench her jaw to keep quiet as the Doctor’s finger entered her. The first time he’d done it, in their second shared bath, had been a bit painful, but he’d assured her that would be the only time it would. He’d said it was so when they finally made love, it wouldn’t hurt. He’d been right, because after that it felt nothing except sheer pleasure. Unable to see him, only feeling and hearing the way his lips, tongue, and now two fingers was making the moment monumentally more intense. “Don’ stop.” She managed to gasp as quietly as possibly. She knew he wouldn’t, just as she knew he loved hearing it. She tossed her head back, with a muffled groan as he sucked again, fingers curling up with a thrust.    
  
John was glad Rose had finished him first, because the way she was keening quietly, arching under him, and squeezing her thighs might have undone him before she was even finished. He couldn’t remember her ever being this wet, this receptive of his touch, and he knew it was because she couldn’t see or make noise to relieve the pleasures he was worshiping her with. He swelled a bit with pride when her thighs tightened around his ears as he gave a swirling thrust and a particularly intent swirl of his tongue around the hooded bud. “I love you.” He sighed against her, pressing an open mouthed kiss.    
  
“Love. You. Too.” Rose clenched her dress tighter as each thrust of his fingers marked her words. Already that coil was tightening deep inside of her, making her whole body tremble. As always, the Doctor seemed to know, because his swirling licks and intent sucks became more determined. Then, stars above, he added a third finger, stretching her, filling her more than he ever had before, and she was dancing dangerously close to the edge.    
  
John knew his love was close to release. He had memorized her body’s signs, the way she began to positively soak his fingers and chin, how she fluttered around him, how her legs began to tremble and squeeze. He didn’t even have to think to react, because his body instinctively knew how to respond. Adding the third finger was just a taste for her, for what he hoped he’d get to give her so soon. The tightness of her core was as intoxicating as her taste, and if he wasn’t already thoroughly satiated he’d be fighting to keep from feeling it around his own length. “That’s it, love. Come for me, but be quiet.” He rushed the words out so he could return his lips to his treat.    
  
Rose was past coherent thoughts. All she could do was toss her head back, dig her heels into the Doctor’s back, and fight to stay silent. She was nearly there, teetering on the precipice, the spring so tight inside of her she couldn’t imagine it could take much more. Then his teeth grazed so lightly against her, his tongue quickly following with a flick and a suck, and his fingers thrust in deeper than ever before, twisting slightly, and Rose snapped. She shot into the stars, bucking wildly under him, slapping a hand over her mouth to muffle her short cries. She couldn’t see, couldn’t think, only ride the pleasure he brought.    
  
John pulled his lips away, licking them clean, but kept his fingers with slow, soothing movements as Rose clenched around them. She was gasping for air, writhing under his hands, making him grin in delight at how she had responded. Delicately, he slipped his fingers free, lowering her legs, as he popped the soaked digits into his lips to suck them clean. Rose’s eyes fluttered open as he pushed her skirts down with his dry hand, and he smirked around his finger as the fixated on the ones in his mouth. “Too sweet to waste.” He chuckled, moving to the next one.    
  
“Is it?” It wasn’t the first time Rose had watched the Doctor suck her own arousal from his fingers, but this time he seemed to be making a show of it, almost bragging at how desperate he had made her. She gasped as he was suddenly braced over her, swirling his tongue around the third finger. Then, the Doctor eased it between her lips. She darted her tongue out, catching the remaining taste there, and sighed as she realized why he enjoyed it so much. His eyes widened as his tongue grazed along his lower lip when she sucked. Then she pushed his hand away to pull his lips to hers.    
  
The Doctor had always thought it courteous to wipe his mouth before kissing Rose, though he didn’t mind at all tasting himself on her tongue when she was done. He hadn’t been sure if she would enjoy tasting herself, as some women didn’t, but apparently she did. It threatened to renew his own arousal, as her tongue sought out every last bit that lingered in his mouth. “Like that do you?” He whispered, as the kiss broke.    
  
“Mmmhmm, we taste good together.” Rose hadn’t imagined it would, but somehow it filled her with a possessive pride. “My Doctor.” She grinned, as he kneeled down to fetch her knickers he had relieved her of. He tapped her leg playfully, but she didn’t lift them. “Put em in one of your pockets. Have a feelin’ they’ll just come off before we reach the inn anyways.”    
  
“I’ve created a monster.” John laughed as he shoved them inside his coat pocket and grabbed the blanket before sitting next to her. He loved and reveled in the amount of trust she placed in him to let herself be so free and bold. There was no crassness about it, though, because he knew without a doubt that her desires were for him alone. “Come here, my precious girl.” He draped the blanket over them both, pulling her into his side. “I do have some bad news.”    
  
“What?” Rose knew it couldn’t be too bad, because he was smiling. For a hazy moment she had thought it was about her mum, but the satisfied chuckle he was making as he stroked her arm eased that away. “Doctor, tell me.”    
  
“Because we aren’t married, we can’t share a room at court.” Not that John gave a damn about etiquette, but he didn’t want Rose’s honor questioned by any gossipers. She made a displeased whine, and he had to smirk as she pouted out that delicious lower lip. “Buuuut.” He drug the word out with a roguish snicker. He couldn’t help it. He always felt mischievous and rebellious after being intimate. “I did request that our rooms have adjoining doors, so, I’ll just have to sneak back to mine before everyone else wakes up.”    
  
“How’re you gonna do that?” Rose’s disappointment was gone as soon as it came. “If things work anything like the O’brien’s estate, the servants will be coming in just after sunrise.”    
  
“May have invented a clock that has an alarm.” John preened at his forethought. Sleeping away from Rose was not an option for him, not just because she kept his nightmares at bat, but because he loved drifting off and waking up to her smile and kiss. “Tried it out the last three days to make sure I wasn’t late meeting you for dinner while finishing up the wedding gift.”    
  
“Your genius is just one of the many reasons I love you.” Rose beamed as she pressed a kiss to his cheek, giggling as he sniffed proudly and lifted his chin. “Oi! That was a compliment, not an ego boost.” She poked his side playfully, which only earned her being pulled into his lap for an intoxicating kiss. “What about at the inn.”    
  
“Weeeeell.” John dragged the words out, again a bit proud of his planning. “I may have sent out reservation out a bit late, and there is only going to be one room available.” The coach driver had delivered that response this morning along with the letter about her mum. “Long as we make the second bed looked slept in, nobody will know.”    
  
“Will we have to be quiet at Court too?” Rose had barely kept her voice down here, and she worried she wouldn’t be able to if they were fully naked in bed. Especially if he decided to throw his senseless rule about not actually making love just yet out the windows. She was so ready to take that step, just didn’t know how to convince him.    
  
“Yes, but not as quiet.” John hugged her tightly as the carriage tilted for the first sharp turn that signaled the quarter mark of the mountain road. “But I have some ideas to keep you occupied while I please you.” Rose was always open to try whatever he suggested, and the thought of her straddled over his face as she used that beautiful mouth to drive him over the edge flickered into his mind. He felt himself stirring under the blanket, but stamped it down. The next few hours would be too bumpy and twisting to enjoy each other again.    
  
“Can’ wait.” Rose leaned her head against the Doctor’s shoulder and laced their fingers together. The smooth ride seemed over for now, and it wasn’t exactly comfortable. “You sure ‘m going to fit in?”    
  
“You’ll fit in just as well as I do.” John chuckled. Granted, he didn’t exactly blend in with the other nobility, but honestly he didn’t mind. His reputation for shirking etiquette and doing as he pleased had long since been overlooked, and if they could accept him for it, they’d accept his Rose.


	17. Chapter 17

Rose did her best to fight back her nerves as she joined the Doctor in the hall. They’d arrived to the Capitol shortly before midnight, and had been escorted to their rooms. Of course, after quickly showering, she’d found herself snuggled into his bare chest and sleeping soundly after their long trip on the road. Sure enough, his alarm clock had sounded at five am, and he’d kissed her longingly before disappearing through his door so she could get another hour of sleep before a trio of handmaidens had come in to wake her gently and help her into her clothes.    
  
The dress was lighter than the ones she’d worn back at the mountain castle, as the weather here, while chilly, was still much warmer. She didn’t even need a cloak or coat, just the long sleeves of the dress. Rose had been a bit unnerved by the women insisting they were to help her dress and do her hair and makeup. She didn’t want to be rude, so she’d let them. She wasn’t sure what she thought of the crown of braids adorned with pearl pins or the more dramatic eyeshadow and shimmering lip oil.    
  
“There you are!” John pushed away from the window where he’d been staring out at the city below the fourth floor where their rooms were. He had to gasp, as he took in the lovely pink, silk dress the seamstress had made at his request, as well as the brighter, more glistening makeup. While Rose always looked stunning, the ensemble made her practically radiant. “I didn’t pay the seamstress nearly enough for her to make you look that breathtaking.”    
  
Forgetting they were at court and not hidden away in his own castle, John wrapped Rose in his arms for a slow, tender, heart warming embrace. The thinner material allowed him to feel her curves under his fingers, as her tongue trailed across his lower lip. It took all of his restraint not to propel her back into her room. The fact that they’d been summoned for breakfast with the royal family played a small part too. “Come on, I have some friends to introduce you to.” He hadn’t told her who they were having breakfast with, because he knew she would fuss and turn into a bumbling mess.    
  
“You don’ have friends.” Rose teased, as the Doctor pulled her arm through his. She reached up to wipe a smudge of the pink lip oil from the corner of his mouth. “Thought you said people annoy you too much.” She snickered at the exasperated look he shot her, and wondered exactly who they’d be dining with. He had told her that he wasn’t exactly friendly with many folks here, because of his attitude before.    
  
“Used to, but then I met someone who changed my mind.” John leaned down to kiss Rose’s hair, as he nodded to Captain Jake Simmonds, who was at his usual post at the door leading to the stairs that led up to the royal wing. “Captain.”    
  
“My Lord.” He grinned at the slightly confused look Jake had as he bowed to them. “My Lady.”    
  
“‘M not-“   
  
“Rose this is Captain Jake Simmonds. If you ever need help, and I’m not around, come to him.” The Doctor cut off her protest, as Captain Jake opened the door with a befuddled look. As they strode through, Rose realized that he must not be accustomed to see the Doctor with a woman on his arm. That pleased her far more than it should. At the top of the stairs was another set of doors, flanked by two guards who both gave curt bows and opened them. As they stepped inside, Rose gasped at the beauty of the sprawling open area.    
  
Silk curtains hung over the windows, and the walls were adorned with portraits and paintings. Here and there, smiling servants were sweeping the stone floors, wiping off exquisite vases, and arranging bouquets of rich smelling flowers. They bowed and curtsied as the Doctor led her towards a massive door at the far end of the hall, where another pair of guards stood. These men snapped to attention, bowing, before turning to open the doors. “Lord Smith and his Lady have arrived, your Majesties.” One announced, and Rose felt her heart seize up.    
  
“Doctor, why didn’ you warn me. ‘D’ve worn somethin’ fancier.” John chuckled at Rose’s whisper, patting her hand as he led her into the room. He knew the royal family well enough to know they wouldn’t care if she showed up in a servant’s dress.    
  
“You look fine.” He assured her, as he slid his hand to hers and bowed at the waist. Smiling, he saw Rose curtsy at his side. “Good morning, your Majesties.” John chuckled, as he straightened to the sound of a chair sliding out.    
  
“Since when do you bow John?” King Brian laughed as he came over to clap his shoulder. He met the man’s sparkling eyes before shaking his hand. Beyond him, he saw Queen Melinda standing next to her son, who was accompanied by a lovely redheaded woman who could only be Amelia.    
  
“Since I have someone to introduce.” Rose righted herself, feeling her cheeks flush in nerves and embarrassment. She could slap the Doctor for not warning her, but then the King was taking her hand and raising it for a kiss. “Brian, this is-“    
  
“Rose?” She squeaked as Prince Rory came to stand beside his father, blinking a bit in disbelief. “No, wait...” she felt her embarrassment turn to panic as the Prince tilted his head and then laughed. “It is you!”    
  
“You know each other?” John was confused. How did Rose, who had spent her life as an indentured servant, know Rory?    
  
“We’ve met.” Rose was absolutely red as she shrank into his side, and John curled an arm around her. He could tell she was frightened, but why? Rory was a good man, just like his parents.    
  
“Briefly. I accidentally spilled her mop water, and then she busted my nose.” The prince took her hand with a smile, kissing her knuckles as his father did, and Rose swallowed. He wasn’t angry with her? He was chuckling. “Last I heard, you were running into the forest with two other servants.”    
  
“We can catch up over breakfast, gentlemen. Come sit!” Queen Melinda laughed as she waved them over, and Rose clung to the Doctor as they made their way to the table. She offered a shy smile, feeling overwhelmed as he helped her into a chair across from Amelia. “Now, John, I didn’t believe when you said you were bringing a lady to court, and now Rory knows her too. This is a story I must hear.”    
  
John settled into his seat, looking down at his suddenly quiet love. He’d become so use to her verbose personality that he’d forgotten how she could retreat in on herself when she felt unsafe. He kissed her hair gently, earning himself a trio of shocked looks, before he took to filling her plate. “Well, I haven’t heard how Rose and Rory met, but I found her near the bridge to the castle half frozen. She’d been beaten, starved, and mauled by hounds. So I took her in.”    
  
Rose’s hand tightened on his knee under the table, as he took in the expressions of everyone. “Starved?” Amelia cut in, drawing his gaze to the woman. “Rory, is this one of the servants that sparked your decree to investigate abuse among indentured people?” John perked up. That was news to him, investigations into abuse. Good, maybe the O’briens could finally be held accountable.   
  
“Yes, she is.” Rory’s voice was kind, and Rose glanced up from her plate at him. “Almost didn’t recognize her, because the last time I saw her she looked like she hadn’t had a decent meal in years.” She looked back down, as she realized this was it. Her cover was blown. If Rory had recognized her, then the O’briens would if they came to the wedding. All hell would break loose.   
  
“Stop talking about her like she isn’t there.” Queen Melinda scolded the table, and Rose chanced a shy look up. The woman was smiling at her softly. “Rose, dear, you don’t have to be embarrassed. We’re all friends here.”    
  
“Jus’ don’t have anythin’ to add, your Grace.” Rose murmured, picking up her fork.   
“The Doctor, I mean, John, explained it.” Being around the Doctor had taught her what she had to say was important, and she had more to add. She just didn’t think they’d honestly care. Nobody but him had ever cared.    
  
“I dunno, Rose.” Amelia finally spoke, and John saw she was staring intently at Rose. There was a sort of feisty rebellion in her eyes, and he could see instantly why Rory had chosen her over dozens of eligible ladies of nobility. “Seems like you probably have quite a bit more to add. Go on then, tell us your side.”    
  
“What’s there to tell, mi’lady? I ran away, almost died, and he saved me.” John thought that was even more of an understatement than his description. She had been quite thorough describing everything to him. Then he remembered how she felt like nobody cared what someone like her had to say. Even still, she carefully popped a bit of fruit in her mouth and looked down, returning to the quiet girl he had first known. That wouldn’t do at all.    
  
“I agree with Amy.” Brian chimed in, lifting his tea cup. “I’ve known John for years, and you’re obviously a rare woman if you’ve got him relaxed and smiling.” Rose’s ears tinged pink where they protruded through her hair, and John reached up reflexively to stroke her cheek. This resulted in a few more curious looks, as well as Brian adding. “And he’s obviously in love with you. Never thought I’d see that from him.”    
  
“Rose, if you’re worried about offendin’ someone here.” Amelia chuckled, drawing Rose’s gaze again. She was smirking at the Prince who was smiling back at her. “I met Rory when I called him a stupid face for spilling beer on me.” John snorted beside her, and she saw he had to wipe a bit of jam that had dribbled down his chin off. “So you were a servant. I was a bar maid at my parents inn. We’re not so different.”    
  
Those words made Rose smile, and she relaxed as she realized that maybe they would accept her. “The O’briens did abuse me, starved me, ‘nd I didn’t intend to run away. Mickey and Bill sort of dragged me along. One of their guards found me, and one of John’s rogue experiments intervened. I got as far as I could before I passed out from the cold.” She knew not to mention Tardis, which was fine, because she couldn’t remember much about how the wolf got her to the spot John found her. “When I woke up, I was in his castle and he was tending my wounds. Honestly thought I was gonna end up as an experiment myself. Then I learned the truth about ‘im.”    
  
She looked over at John, grinning as he smiled adoringly down at her. “Didn’t intend to fall in love with ‘im at all, but here we are.” Rose moved her hand to his arm, squeezing it softly. “Even if he took a bit of persuading to admit he felt the same. He paid off my debt, told them that the servant girl he found died, and that’s the story.” His lips brushed her hair, and Rose felt the last of her anxiety wash away.    
  
“Well, the O’briens will be here in time for the engagement ball tonight, but if they try to stir up trouble, we won’t let them.” Rory chimed in, and John flashed him a thankful grin. “So don’t worry about that, my Lady.”    
  
“‘M not, your Highness ‘m not a Lady.” Rose protested softly, and John shook his head. Didn’t she understand what he meant by bringing her here, by introducing her to his closest and only friends?    
  
“I think you’ll find that we’ll treat you as you are one.” Melinda interjected. “As long as you’re here, you are.”    
  
Rose didn’t argue anymore. She had a suspicion, judging from the looks being shared by the Doctor and the others, that this was more than an introduction. He was making a statement of some sort, but for the life of her she couldn’t figure out what.    
  
  
  
  



	18. Chapter 18

John hated having to get decked out in full traditional regalia. In fact he normally avoided it at all costs. He was swallowing his distaste, though, because he wanted Rose to truly experience the full pomp and circumstance of her first ball. Also, he was trying to apologize.    
  
After their breakfast, he’d been introduced to a new side of Rose Tyler, the angry side. In all honesty, it’d been so adorable he couldn’t stop laughing. Which, of course, only served to make matters worse. Still, he found himself snickering as he set about changing.    
  
_ “You!” Rose screeched as a pillow from her sofa thwacked him in the face. “Could have warned me!” Another pillow flew at him and he caught it. “I don’t like bein’ put on the spot!” Her cheeks flushed as those mesmerizing eyes flashed. “Seriously Doctor? The royal family!”  _ _   
_ _   
_ _ “If I’d warned you, you’d have been a wreck!” He protested, dodging yet another pillow. John tossed the one in his hands aside. “Besides, I knew you’d open up once you met Amy!” He had hoped she would at least remember that Amy was no more of nobility than she was. _ _   
_ _   
_ _ “You’d never even met ‘er!” Rose glowered, and she stalked towards him looking lethal. “All you knew was she was a barmaid. She could’ve been one ‘f those snobby, prissy types who look down on ev’ryone else!” Okay, so she had a fair point there, but he did too.  _ _   
_ _   
_ _ “I know Rory wouldn’t fall for a woman like that.” John smiled down at his beautiful Rose, hoping he’d be able to get that furious look off her face. “He’s like me. Takes more than a pretty face-“ Okay, so that had been a poor word choice, because Rose was turning from furious to livid. “She has to be smart, sweet, kind at heart, being beautiful is just the bonus.”  _ _   
_ _   
_ _ “You...” Rose raised a finger, lips twitching up in a smile. “Have a silver tongue, Lord Smith!” Her palm slapped lightly against his cheek, and he knew he’d won. “Hey! No smirking. ‘M only letting you off because Queen Melinda and Amy asked me to come into town with them.”  _ _   
_ _   
_ _ “Better get going then.” John had chuckled, curling a finger under her chin for a kiss, while he quickly pinned a brooch to her dress with the other. Her lips had still tasted of her morning tea.  _ _   
_ _   
_ _ “Wha’s this?” Rose murmured, when they broke apart as she looked down. “Your sigil? Why?” He could see worry shadowing her face.  _ _   
_ _   
_ _ “I know you won’t let them buy anything for you. So if you wanted to pick some things up, just show my sigil and they’ll take the money from my account.” John knew she would protest, could see it rising on her lips. “Don’t fuss. I’ve hardly touched what I earn in years, and it’s just going to waste. I want my Lady to enjoy her day out.” He really wanted to go with her, but he had to meet with the Royal Jeweler, take care of a few other errands, and then he had lunch with Rory. _ _   
_ _   
_ _ “‘M not a-“ John cut her off with another press of their lips. Honestly he didn’t understand how she couldn’t see what all was going on around her. He also didn’t know how he was keeping it all quiet, because he was anxious to tell her everything.  _ _   
_ _   
_ _ “I love you.” He hummed, as they broke apart. “Now, go. I’ll see you this evening.” John had chuckled before there was a knock at the door.  _ _   
_ _   
_ __ “I love you too.” Rose smiled, and with a backwards glance she opened the door and was hauled out by a flash of red hair .    
  
John wasn’t ashamed to admit he had missed Rose all day, but she had needed the time to stand on her own. He hoped that a day with the Queen and Amy had helped her realize more of who she really was. It was that thought that had him grinning as he straightened his coat before stepping into the hall. Rose was just coming out of her room, and he felt his entire body freeze at the image.    
  
Rose felt beautiful, truly beautiful, but a bit out of her comfort zone as she ran her hands along the gown. The rich blue material of the bodice hugged her curves, which the corseted style design accentuated more than her other dresses did. She still couldn’t believe it was her body, sometimes, in the mirror. It was covered in intricate gold swirls, had long sleeves that belled out at her wrists and were trimmed in gold, and the full skirts were the same blue only with a nearly transparent gold silk covering them.    
  
The handmaidens had done her hair up into an intricate braided twist, that was held in place with a golden comb decorated in sapphires, and they had once again done her makeup. Rose had tried to protest, but they wouldn’t hear a word against it. Which had been sort of the running theme since she’d left the Doctor’s castle. Everyone kept treating her like she was somebody more than an average girl.   
  
It hadn’t been until Amy had confided that nobody had actually believed that the Doctor had been courting someone, that Rose realized that she was being treated as if they were married. The thought thrilled her as much as it terrified her.    
  
They hadn’t discussed marriage, ever. In fact, Rose hadn’t even given it a thought at all. She loved the Doctor, but she wasn’t entirely sure he was the type to marry. If he was, he would have brought it up. He didn’t keep things of that manner to himself, at least not anymore. Still, as she stepped into the hall, she knew that even if he asked, she wouldn’t say yes until she knew the fate of her mum. He hadn’t told her he’d gotten any news. Those thoughts, however, came to a halt as she looked up and saw the Doctor. Except, the Doctor was gone.    
  
Standing before Rose, staring at her like a man who’d been struck speechless was Lord John Smith. Gone were his usual pinstriped trousers and linen shirts, the messy hair, and grease coated fingers. He was wearing pressed black trousers, a blue shirt with golden buttons, shiny boots, and a black tailed coat with gold trim at the cuffs that was tailored to immaculate perfection. His hair was combed back, and his sideburns had been trimmed. They made all of his proud features more prominent, and as he clicked his heels to execute a formal bow, Rose felt her head spin.    
  
“Good evening, my Lady.” The Doctor righted himself, with a toothy smile that only served to steal Rose’s breath. “Would you do me the honor of letting me escort you this evening?” He extended his right hand, and Rose had to force herself not to babble as she placed her hand in his.   
  
“You may.” She couldn’t even find it in her to protest, again, that she wasn’t a Lady. “You look amazin’.” She finally managed to get out, as he looped her arm through his.    
  
“And you look absolutely breathtaking.” The Doctor smiled, as he led her down the hall. Rose was too stunned with everything going on to register their path. “Have a good day?”    
  
“Yes.” Rose smiled, as she thought back on how lovely the Queen and Amy had been. Their trip into town hadn’t just been shopping and socializing. They’d visited the city orphanage for lunch, which the Queen did three times weekly, had paid a visit to one of the Queen’s former handmaidens who’d just had twins, and then they’d stopped at a few shops. Rose had allowed herself to indulge in a few small purchases. “Picked up that dictionary you keep promisin’ to find, ‘nd I got a gift for my mum, when we find her.”    
  
“What is it?” The Doctor fidgeted a bit, as the corridor they reached changed from torches to electric bulbs. The hum along the wires relaxed her, making Rose feel a bit like they were back in their castle.    
  
“ Just a pearl handed hair brush and comb set, with a box painted like a garden.” Rose had felt a bit odd at the price, but he had drummed it into her that she could spend as she pleased. She just couldn’t spend it on herself. That felt more than odd. It made her feel a bit kept. “If it’s too expensive I can-“   
  
“You’re not returning it.” The Doctor chuckled, as they came to a crowd of people filing into two open, but guarded, doors. “I’m sure your mum will love it.” Rose clung to his arm as the crowd moved them inside. She was expecting a formal sit down dinner, but what she got was something else entirely.    
  
The extravagant ball room, with it’s four chandeliers, soaring windows, and exquisite tapestries had tables bunched into groups along the walls. An orchestra was playing on a raised platform, and the only table with food on it was occupied by the Royal family. Everyone else was filling their plates from tables laden down with an array of food against the farthest window. Then they were settling into their seats.    
  
“There’s so many people.” Rose gasped, as he led her expertly through the guests. It struck her, then, that not everyone was dressed in gowns as expensive as hers or formal garments like the Doctor. Most were, but here and there it was obvious that some of the guests weren’t wealthy. They weren’t impoverished, but definitely not rich. “Doctor, ‘m confused.”    
  
“The bride’s going to have her friends and family here too.” John knew exactly what Rose was confused about. Rory had already divulged that this dinner and ball would be different. Amy had made sure that her family and their friends had come. Like he had told Rose, she had nothing to feel uncomfortable about. “Let’s eat. I know you probably didn’t eat all that much today.” Rose had taken a bit of whispered coaxing just to finish her breakfast.    
  
“I had lunch.” Rose felt her cheeks flush as he called her out. “I had venison stew and a cherry tart for dessert.” Okay so she had eaten a quarter of the bowl and three bites of the tart. The rest had been shared with one of the older kids at the orphanage, who was still hungry. She had still felt a bit out of place that early. She knew the Doctor only brought up her eating habits because he was concerned for her health.    
  
“Good.” John knew good and well she probably hadn’t eaten her fill, so he released her arm to pick up a plate and begin filling it for her. Their meals at home, while delicious, were pretty simple. He’d just added a fruit sauce to her ham when Rose squealed in fear, and he spun in time to see her throw her arms around a man. Jealousy flared for an instant, until they parted. “Hello Jack.”    
  
“Hey Doc!” Jack grinned, as he held Rose out at arms length and gave a low whistle. “Well look at you. If I didn’t see the Doctor here at your side, Rose Tyler. I wouldn’t have recognized you. You are look positively radiant!” John rolled his eyes as Rose blushed and looked down at her dress. He knew he had nothing to worry about, but he didn’t like when she gave someone else his smile. Particularly someone who looked and flirted like Jack Harkness.   
  
“Stop it.” Rose wasn’t used to anyone but the Doctor complimenting her, and it made her feel a bit self-conscious. “What’re you doin’ here?” She didn’t know how a Captain of the guard scored a royal invite, as his pristine uniform showed he was absolutely not there on duty.    
  
“I was on Prince Rory’s personal guard for a few years, before I was sent out to keep an eye on this one.” Jack chuckled, as he nodded his chin towards the Doctor. Rose could see there was an abnormal set to his jaw, almost like he didn’t like seeing Jack’s hands on her arms. “So of course I was invited. Plus I had to guard Cassandra and Reinette on their journey.” He sniffed a bit in distaste, and Rose felt her stomach clench in panic.    
  
“Where are they?” John watched as Rose shrugged out of Jack’s grasp with her question and instantly shifted towards him. He didn’t miss the way she swallowed and started rubbing her wrist. He glanced around, spotting the women giving their greetings at the Royal table.    
  
“Here, love.” John passed Rose her plate, ignoring the triumphant smile Jack flashed them. “They’re greeting Prince Rory. Don’t worry. They won’t even recognize you.” He doubted they would even give her a passing thought. He scooped up his own plate and blindly filled it so that he could loop an arm around Rose’s waist. “Let’s go sit over there with Lord Rhys and Lady Gwen. The O’briens and them do not get along. They won’t approach the table.”    
  
“‘Kay.” Rose flashed a goodbye smile to Jack as the Doctor led her over to a table. There was an exchange of pleasantries, and what seemed to be the typical look of shock when he introduced her as his Lady. “Hello, mi’lord, mi’lady.” She inwardly winced as she knew her accent would give her away as definitely not a Lady.    
  
“Pleasure to meet you.” Lord Rhys smiled as the Doctor helped her into her chair. “It’s good to see you out of that isolated castle of yours John.” Rose watched as he touched his wife’s arm with a smile. “Gwen and I were taking a wager with each other if you’d show. Thanks, now I owe her a week down in Boeshane come spring.” She had to giggle as the Doctor snorted into his wine.    
  
“You act like I never come to court.” John smirked as his Rose relaxed into a fit of giggles. “I was here a few months ago.” He stabbed a bit of duck with his fork and lifted it to his lips. “I wouldn’t miss Rory sending the kingdom into an uproar.” Rory had been searching for a bride for about four years, and choosing a barmaid had definitely offended plenty of noble families.    
  
“Rose, you’re up from around Powell, aren’ you?” John sucked in a breath at the question Gwen directed at Rose. Of course she would zero in on Rose’s accent, as her parents had been close to the O’briens before Lord Martin O’brien had offended her father when Rhys had named Gwen his choice over Reinette. He didn’t know what exactly had been said, but it had nearly started a border skirmish.    
  
“Yes, um, my family lived in the village near your family’s land.” Rose wasn’t sure if Gwen was genuinely curious or upset that she was at her table. “But I’ve got no fond feelings toward the O’briens at all.” That was a gross understatement, but she didn’t have the clout to throw out what she’d really like to say. “Can’t stand them, honestly.”    
  
“Spent more than five minutes with them then have you?” Gwen snorted as she picked up her goblet, and Rose bit her lip with a nod. She wasn’t sure exactly how to explain the circumstances without totally embarrassing herself or the Doctor. The Lady’s eyes zeroed in on her hands, and Rose quickly picked up her fork. “How long did you serve for Reinette?” She groaned inwardly. She could put her hair up fancy and paint her face, but there were signs that couldn’t be hidden. Of course her cooking burn scars, callouses, and weathered knuckles would be evident to someone who paid attention to their servants.    
  
“Twelve years.” John cut in, as he saw Rose becoming unsettled. “Not willingly, and once she stepped foot on my land I freed her.” He gave the couple a pointed look, trying to emphasize that this was a touchy subject for his Rose. Gwen and Rhys shared a glance and a nod. “Rose is whomever she wants to be now.” He looked over at her, as she turned her head to smile her thanks. “Now, I’m famished.”    
  
It only took until their plates were half empty before he saw Rose visibly relax. He knew it probably had something to do with her second goblet of wine as well, but that was fine. It pleased him to no end as she fell into conversation with Gwen about some book they had both read, which was quickly joined in by merchants daughter named Martha who had knew Rhys’ family and also apparently the Ponds. It struck him how just this past November, this would have exhausted him mentally. Now, though, the frivolity and lighthearted atmosphere had him chattering away with his arm draped behind Rose’s shoulder.    
  
“Can we dance?” Rose was fully, feeling cheerful and surprisingly confident as Rhys whirled Gwen out onto the dance floor. She fixed the Doctor with her most pleading face, earning her a silly grin as he pushed back his chair.    
  
“Been waiting all evening.” The Doctor chuckled as he took her hand and pulled her to her feet. Rose went eagerly to his arms as they joined the crowd, smiling as he began moving her to the music. It was a waltz they had practiced quite often. “Enjoying yourself, love?” She was, actually. Especially when he lifted her for a twirl.    
  
“Dunno why I was so scared.” Rose’s giggle as John passed her around his back made his heart soar. “Everythin’s so fun, and Gwen and Rhys are lovely. I didn’t expect them to be.” He turned her back to his chest as she squeezed his hand. “‘Nd now ‘m actually dancin’. ‘S like a fairytale.”    
  
“I’m glad your happy.” He earnestly informed her, as she turned back to face him. He loved seeing so much joy in her eyes, and his favorite smile shone out from her face. “I told you you’d fit in fine.” Well he’d known the royal family would like her, but the rest had been a hope for. “I don’t think you’ve ever laughed so much. I love it!”    
  
“Me?!” Rose laughed as they pressed their palms together to move up and then slide back down and press closer. “You’ve been smiling so much, I thought maybe you were drunk.” She was just teasing, but she had anticipated seeing him slip back into his self flagellation with so many people around. “‘M happy because you’re happy.” The music paused briefly, and they stepped aside to get a drink.    
  
Rose made a mental note that this third goblet of wine would be her last, because she didn’t want to drink too much. “May I have the next one, my Lady?” She turned, finding Jack smiling with an outstretched hand. Quickly, she looked over at the Doctor who nodded with an eye roll. Could he be, no, he couldn’t be jealous.   
  
“You may.” Rose placed her hand in Jack’s and yipped in surprise as he tugged her in close to join the dancers. She was still a bit in awe of their growing friendship, even though he’d always been kind to her. “I never did thank you for picking all that stuff out for me.”    
  
“What are friends for.” Jack chuckled, as he pulled her in time to the music. “So, you two have caused quite the stir. He’s treating you well?” Well was an understatement, and Rose giggled and nodded. “Good, I knew as soon as I walked in on you two in the library that day that you’d shake him out of his shell.”    
  
“He shook me out.” Rose quipped. All she’d done was show him he wasn’t as horrible as he thought. She knew she’d taken far more work to unwravel. It was hard to believe that she had gone from being a selectively mute servant to dancing at a Royal ball after all day chatting with the Queen and Princess to be. “I didn’t mean to fall in love with him. ‘M just amazed he loves me back.”    
  
“I’m just glad to see you both happy. I knew him before the accident with his family.” She lost her breath as he dipped her back for a moment. “And after. It’s good to see him smiling, and it’s good to see you looking healthy and, if I may say, absolutely delectable.” He gave a flirtatious growl, which made her flush.    
  
“Down boy.” Rose teased, knowing he was only doing it to make her smile. “‘M spoken for.” She looked back to locate the Doctor, finding him engaged in conversation with a man she didn’t recognize near a table with a large display of drinks. He flashed her a quick raise of a goblet with a wink.    
  
“Doesn’t mean I can’t make you blush.” Jack snickered. Rose rolled her eyes, and she was lifted again into s twirl, feeling quite glorious as she knew her skirts were sparkling in the lights. “So are you two still sleeping in separate beds back home or-“    
  
“Jack!” Rose playfully smacked his arm, as he laughed. She felt her cheeks flush as the question drew memories of their first time in a bed doing more than sleeping. “That’s none of your business.” She still grinned and flashed him a conspiratorial wink.    
  
“Knew it!” He barked out a laugh, and Rose shook her head as she let him continue on into the next song.    
  
John kept his eye on Jack and Rose as they danced. He knew his friend wouldn’t make any real advances on Rose, and he knew she wouldn’t do anything to put a rift in their relationship. That didn’t mean he liked seeing her in another man’s arms, especially when that man was capable of sweet talking almost anyone out of their clothes and into his bed. So, he chatted with a few folks to pass the time, complimented Amy on her gown when she had come over to say hello, and sipped his wine as he just enjoyed the evening.    
  
“Lord Smith?” The prim voice of Reinette made him turn. “I almost didn’t recognize you dressed like that.” Distaste welled up in his throat, but he swallowed it down with a polite smile and nod. He saw Jack continue on into the next song with Rose beyond her.    
  
“Lady Reneitte, how are you this evening?” He wondered if he could subtly signal Jack to keep Rose away until he got rid of the woman talking to him. “Enjoying the party?”    
  
“Of course.” Reinette reached past him to pick up a goblet of wine. That was normally the extent of conversation he had with her, and readied himself for her to leave. “Mother and I were surprised to see you came. You don’t usually come down twice a year.” It took him a moment to recognize the lilt of her tone, and the confident smile she was giving him. Oh brother. “I’m glad you did though.”    
  
“Why’s that?” John sipped his wine, turning fully to face her. His assumption on her tone were correct as she extended a hand to straighten his lapel. “We don’t ever talk, barring the rare raven.” He flicked his gaze past her, panic flickering as he didn’t see Rose or Jack.    
  
“Doesn’t mean I haven’t wanted to.” Reinette sighed, and she didn’t sound anywhere near as genuine as he knew she intended to. “You’ve always been so withdrawn, I thought maybe you didn’t want to be talked to.” She fluttered her lashes at him, and John had to bite back an exasperated snort. “But seeing you here tonight, smiling and dancing, I thought maybe I was wrong.”    
  
“Things have changed for me recently.” He quipped, looking back down at her briefly. Honestly, couldn’t she just take the hint. “Altered my view of people and the world.” Where the hell were Jack and Rose?    
  
“Well the changes are wonderful.” Reinette’s hand went to his arm for a soft brush. “I like the way they look on you, very much. Would you like to dance.” She was shifting her goblet to the table, and John shrugged her hand away.    
  
“The changes are because I met a woman, and I love her.” Her hand fell away, and John watched as her whole demeanor changed.    
  
“Where is she? I’d love to meet her.” She followed his gaze back out to the dancers, and John swallowed. Where indeed was she? “I’m assuming she’s wearing your colors? I don’t see anyone in blue and gold.” There was a smirk on her lips that raised his hackles. “Although, wasn’t Captain Harkness just dancing with a woman in a blue dress? I thought I saw them go out to the gardens.” She tsked softly as jealousy reared in his chest. “Everyone knows what a scoundrel he is. He’s probably-“   
  
“Actually I walked her over to the window so she could have some air.” Jack’s voice came from behind Reinette, and John looked past him to a flushed face Rose who was lethally glowering at Reinette. “Scoundrel I may be, but I don’t pursue my friends’ Ladies.”    
  
“Come here love.” John extended his hand to Rose, pulling her close. Reinette was looking her over, as if sizing up competition. There was none to be had. “You look like you could use some water.” He knew he had to get her out of there fast, before all hell broke loose.    
  
“I don’t believe it.” Reinette’s gasp made John’s blood run cold. “You’re supposed to be dead.”    
  
Rose squeezed hard to John’s arm, as years of hatred and distaste welled up inside of her. She should have shrunk back, bowed her head, turned subservient, but not anymore. She was a free woman, and she wasn’t afraid anymore. “Technically John’s letter said the servant died, and she did. I’m nobody’s servant anymore, Reinette!”    
  
She didn’t know how Reinette would react, but she should have known. The backhand caught her face with a familiar sting, and John and Jack shouted out in rage. Rose didn’t even touch her cheek. “How dare you speak to me that-“ She silence Reinette with an open palmed slap that made everyone within range turn to face them.    
  



	19. Chapter 19

“Arrest her!” Reinette’s shout at Jack made Rose instantly realize what she’d done. “Captain! Arrest her at once!” She yanked her hand back, fear flaring inside of her as she heard the groups around them muttering. Rose flicked her eyes to Jack, who was staring in shock and now grimacing.    
  
“If you want her, you have to go through me.” Suddenly she was behind the Doctor, as he reached one hand back to hold her there. “I paid you for her indenture. She is a citizen of my lands, and anybody who wants to take her will have to kill me first.”    
  
“Doctor, don’t.” Rose tried to move around him, but he wouldn’t let her. He kept pushing her back, as he clung to her arm. “It’s illegal for a peasant to strike a noble.” She sighed. This was it. Reinette was still glowering at her.    
  
“Well you aren’t a peasant as of two this afternoon.” The Doctor huffed, as Reinette whirled away from Jack. “I named you my successor for my lands, which officially makes you a Lady.” Rose felt his words like being drenched in water.    
  
“You what?!” Rose’s exclamation came in synch with Reinette’s, and their shouts drew even more of an audience. Reinette was stuttering, but Rose kept on. “Why would you do that?”  She couldn’t believe he’d gone behind her back, made such a drastic decision without her. She was about to tug him around when he said one word that made all the difference.   
  
“Tardis.” The Doctor was smirking at Reinette, as Rose finally shoved her way around him. “And because I figured something like this might happen.” She was still livid about the news, but equally grateful for his ever present need to keep her safe.    
  
“This is impossible!” Reinette growled, and Rose forced herself to fully face her. It struck her, as Cassandra hurried over, eyes narrowed in rage. “You can’t name her successor for a land without the king’s consent.”    
  
“Which Lady Rose earned this morning at breakfast with my family.” King Brian parted the crowd as he stepped in. “Where I learned some interesting facts about the way you keep your lands, Cassandra.” Rose looked up at him, as he bounced his eyes between them. “Who struck first?”    
  
“Reinette!” John quickly replied, as the people who had seen the exchange spoke the same word. “It was completely unprovoked. Rose didn’t even insult her!” Rose was looking rather flustered, and he wondered just how upset she was at him. There wasn’t anyone else he could trust with Tardis should something happen to him.    
  
“Lady Tyler, would you like to hold charges against her for assault?” Brian turned to face Rose, as the O’brien ladies began babbling over injustices and how this was impossible.    
  
“I would, actually.” Rose snorted, and James felt a flicker of uncertainty. He hadn’t ever pegged her for being the vindictive sort, and he almost began questioning if she had really opened up to him when she added. “But I won’t. Think the humiliation of realizin’ their former servant is just as powerful as them is enough.” Then she squeezed his hand so tightly her nails dug into his skin. “Also, want to pay off the indentures for Bill Potts and Mickey Smith. If the O’briens agree to that, I won’t pursue charges.” Oh his Rose was clever.    
  
“Sounds agreeable to me.” Brian turned to Cassandra and Reinette who were both fuming. “Ladies, do you accept the terms?”    
  
“We do, your Grace.” Cassandra sounded half strangled as she glared at Rose. John did his best not to wince as Rose dug her nails in harder.    
  
“Good, now everybody needs to go back to the party.” With a last look of hatred, the O’briens disappeared into the crowd, and Brian shook his head before departing.    
  
“We need to talk.” Rose cut John off before he could speak. Before he could blink, she was dragging him through the crowd. “I can’t believe you would do something like that!” She hissed, as they made it into the hall. “You couldn’t ‘ave asked me if I was okay with it!”    
  
“I thought you’d understand!” John watched in trepidation as Rose went to run a hand through her hair like she often did when upset. When she couldn’t she crossed her arms. “I did it to protect you. To protect Tardis!” Her next words felt like a blow to his face.   
  
“You promised me I was free!” Rose snapped, though she understood his reasoning. She still didn’t like it, didn’t like that he had done something so drastic with her life. “Then you go off makin’ decisions about my life, my future, like you’re my bloody master!” He hadn’t done it to be cruel, to control her, but She still felt like he’d taken away her choice.    
  
“If you don’t want it, fine!” The Doctor fired back, as his face closed off in that mask of self loathing that he hadn’t worn in weeks. “I’ll have Brian void the decree!” His exclamation caused a few passing servants to cringe and scurry the other direction, and Rose flinched at the cold pain in his voice. “Pardon me for wanting to make sure the people who spent years abusing the woman I love couldn’t touch her anymore!”    
  
“Why didn’ you ask me first?” She just wanted him to understand that she should have been consulted first. She would have agreed, but him going behind her back made her feel forced into it. “If you loved me, you’d’ve asked! I don’ go ‘round making life alterin’ decisions for you!”    
  
“If I loved you! If?!” He threw his hands up, then plunged them into his hair, and Rose realized the words had cut him deeper than she intended. “I told you my story. Told you about Tardis.” He hissed so low she barely heard him. “I trusted you with my past, and you still wonder if I love you?!”    
  
“No! I know you do!” Rose grabbed for his hands as she jaw clenched, the way it did when he was remembering, when the pain and guilt tore at his mind. “I just don’t like bein’ told what my life’s gonna be. I want to choose!” She pried his hands away from his hair as tears stung her eyes.    
  
“I’m sorry.” The Doctor looked down at her with regret heavy in his eyes. “Sometimes I just act, because I want you safe. I don’t want to lose you.” His fingers rested limply in her hands. “Do you want me to undo it? I can. In the morning I’ll-“    
  
“I just want you to love me. Come to me and ask. John-“Rose squeezed his fingers softly as she felt her anger dissipate at the contrition in his whole posture. “If you want to keep me, you can’t do things like that behind my back.” She released on hand to cup his face, as he swallowed hard. “‘M not a helpless sick girl anymore. Promise me that you’ll never do anythin’ like that again.”    
  
“I promise.” John knew Rose had every right to be upset. He had just wanted to protect her, to give her a solid place to stand. He wanted her to never worry about ending up where she came from. He knew she’d fuss, but he hadn’t imagined she’d see it as him trying to control her. He would never even consider it. “I’d never try to control you. I should have asked. I’m sorry.” He chanced turning his head to press a kiss into her palm, and he relaxed as her face softened.    
  
It took that simple movement, the relaxation of her furrowed brow as the anger left Rose for him to see the red mark and swelling that was forming along her cheek and just below her eye. Pain and anger flooded John, as he reached tenderly out to touch the marred skin. “What?” Rose queried, not even wincing back.    
  
“She hit you. It’s swelling.” The soft tone in the Doctor’s voice contradicted the rage in his eye. At his words, her previously distracted mind registered the forgotten but ever familiar throb of being struck. “If she wasn’t a la-“    
  
“I’m fine.” Rose reached up to pull his hand away. “Honestly, ‘ve had worse from her yeah. I’ll put a cold rag on it overnight,and I’ll be right as rain.”  She didn’t really want to return to the ball, but the look on the Doctor’s face said that he was about to storm back in there. “Or maybe my Doctor can kiss it better.” She made to press into him, to keep him from turning around.    
  
“He can do that.” Rose sighed as he cupped her chin and pressed a soft kiss to the stinging spot. “But a cold compress would work best.” She let him take her hand and lead the way back up the hall. “Are you still angry with me?” The question was timid, as the made it to the stairs.    
  
“No, wasn’t really angry to begin with.” Rose sighed, resting her head against his arm. “Jus’, I dunno, shocked I guess. If you do it again though-“   
  
“I won’t!” John had learned his lesson. He squeezed Rose’s hand softly, as they wound their way up the stairs to their floor. “I’m sorry your first ball was ruined though.” He had hoped to avoid the confrontation, but it couldn’t be changed now.    
  
“It wasn’t.” Rose giggled as they reached her door, and she pushed it open to pull him inside. “I got to dance with you and Jack. Got to watch Reinette make a fool of herself trying to flirt with you. Got to slap her. Shame I couldn’t give Cassandra one too.” John finally smiled, as he accepted that she forgave him. She still hadn’t said whether or not she wanted it.    
  
“Sit here, love.” Rose perched on the chair at the vanity, as the Doctor disappeared into the wash room. She barely blinked before he reappeared with a wet flannel. He crouched down to press it to her cheek tenderly. “So should I ask for an audience with Brian to nullify the-“    
  
“Absolutely not.” She covered his hand, pulling the cold cloth tighter against her skin. “But see, that’s what I mean by askin’. My answer would have been yes from the beginnin’.” With her free hand she snagged his shirt and pulled him in. “‘M sorry I shouted at you.”    
  
“I’m sorry too.” John knew what Rose wanted, and he pressed his lips tenderly to hers. For a brief moment during their argument, he had been afraid he’d lost her, but Rose was kissing him in that soft, brushing way that she had when she needed comfort. He moved up, rising only enough to sit next to her on the bed, never breaking the way her satin lips were pressed to his. “I do love you.”    
  
“I love you too.” Rose pulled the flannel away from her face, tossing it aside so she could wrap her arms around his shoulders. The Doctor tasted a bit like wine, as his tongue brushed her lower lip, and she pulled him closer sighing in invitation for him to deepen their kiss. When he curled his hand along her waist, their tongues met to dance and taste slowly.    
  
After all day apart from him, and then the short burst of fear that they’d be separated, Rose hadn’t realized how much she’d been craving his touch. She pressed even closer, nipping his bottom lip and earning herself a throaty groan. When he returned the gesture, Rose felt it spark that warmth of need lower in her belly. She trailed her hands down, finding the buttons of his coat, and she promptly unfastened them to get to the shirt buttons underneath.    
  
John knew instantly where Rose was taking the kiss, and he eagerly went with it. Releasing her waist, his shrugged his coat off to fiddle with the cuff links on his wrists. They kiss never broke, now joined with needy sighs that broke across his lips and tongue, and then his shirt joined his jacket. He was already stirring, but when Rose’s hands splayed across his chest, and she began curling her tongue along his jaw, he rocketed to full hardness with a gasp. “Stand up.” He managed to choke out, kicking his boots off as he did so himself.    
  
John pulled her into his arms, closing his lips over her fragrant neck with a tender, biting suck as his fingers went to work loosening the strings at her back. Rose whimpered in that sultry way that made his whole body flush with desire, as her hands slid down his stomach to begin unfastening his pants. “Need you, Doctor.” She moaned, shoving the trousers down just as her sleeves began sliding down her arms. “Love you.”    
  
“You have me.” He gasped as her right hand wrapped around his length, squeezing hungrily and making kicking the material aside quite difficult. “Too many clothes.” He whined, as he shoved the bodice of her dress down only to reveal a blue corset underneath that was pushing her breasts up in the most delicious way, but also barring him from tasting the supple skin.    
  
“Take it off then.” Rose released him to reach up and begin unhooking the front of the corset. She was positively yearning for him now, for all of him, as the corset popped open, and he shoved it aside to eagerly cup her left breast with a pleased noise. The sensation sent waves of delight down her spine. Suddenly, she was being lifted by her waist and half tossed onto the bed. “Doctor!” She managed to giggle before he pounced on her, his tongue swirling around the pink bud of her nipple before he gave a languorous suck that made her arch up. “More.” She pleaded, plunging a hand into his hair as she parted her thighs to wrap her calves around his. “Want all of you.” She was ready for it, for him, to fully have him. She needed it.   
  
“Rose, are you-“ John had to stifle his gasp of shock as Rose rocked her wet curls up against the base of his arousal. He had wanted to wait until he’d met Jackie, had asked her blessing, but he couldn’t deny how wanting Rose was. He’d been craving this, had held himself back, but she was threatening to break the control.    
  
“Please, John.” It was always his damned name on her tongue that did him in, and he lifted his head to meet Rose’s burning eyes. “‘M ready. I trust you.” She lifted her head, lips parted, and he rocked down against her as he captured that succulent pout with his lips. The noise that came from Rose was absolutely filthy and that did it.    
  
“Can’t deny you anything.” The Doctor’s voice was all gravel and promise, and Rose shuddered as he reached a hand between them. She bucked up into him as he dragged the silky hardness of his length between her curls and folds, and she felt her heart skip as the tip met her entrance. His eyes were dark with desire, the kind that made her preen, and then she was crying out in pleasure as he pushed into her, slowly, delicious torture as he stretched and filled her. “Fuck.” The swear came from his lips with a gasp, and Rose instinctively curled her legs around his hips and bit her nails into his back as he held himself inside of her. “You’re so perfect.”    
  
“So’re you.” John could barely think at the sensation of the tight, dripping, velvet heat incasing him. It was better than he’d imagined, and he pulled back to sink into it again. “Feels amazin’, Doctor. Don’t stop!” At her signal he began moving in earnest, gripping her thigh as he fondled her right breast and caught her lips again. “Gods yes!” She exclaimed against his kiss, making him flex as he sunk in to the hilt again.    
  
Rose had never felt anything so intensely in her life. Over and over he rocked into her, his fingers digging into her thigh as his right hand touched and dragged along her body. His lips were just as urgent, sending waves of joy everywhere they pressed, pulled, and caressed. Then, stars help her, those fingers slid down her stomach to press at the hooded bud pulsing at the apex of her curls. She mewled at the sensation, the electric shocks that sparked up her spine, and she dragged her nails along his back as she rocked up to meet him. “Yes, Love. Just like that.” He growled into her neck, forcing her eyes to flutter shut, and she caught his shoulder with a groan when he gave a particularly deep and hard thrust.   
  
John nearly lost it when Rose began moving with him. She was already fluttering around him, and the sting of her nails drenched pleasure into his veins. He fought it back, focusing his thrusts and touches into making her explode. It was absolute bliss, feeling her around him, against him, her pants and groans filling the air. Kissing his way down her chest again, he caught her breast in his lips, biting gently down, flicking his tongue across the pert bud.    
  
Rose felt that familiar tension building, stronger then any before. The Doctor’s attentions on her body, the circling presses, the hard, deep thrusts rendered her unable to do more than rock up into him and cling to his back. At the soft bite, the coil tightened, and his fingers flicked with a deep upward thrust. She exploded, tossing her head back, crying her ecstasy into the room.   
  
Her pulse roared in her ears, as lightning sparked behind her eyelids. Coherent thought fled her mind as he pulled his hand away to wrap both arms under her and hold her into place. Her climax didn’t wane as quickly as it did in the past, as the Doctor continued to thrust into her. It carried her higher, making her breathless, and she could feel him trembling over her. “I love you.” She keened, and his lips met hers for a sloppy but fierce kiss. He was so close, she could hear it in his broken gasps, feel it in the desperate way he was claiming her.    
  
John pulled his head up, breaking their lips apart. “Open your eyes.” He pleaded, and those pleasure ladened lids fluttered open so he could drown in the shining gold of her eyes. “I love you.” He groaned, feeling the tightening low in his core. Rose began rocking up to meet him again, dragging one hand across his back as she cupped his face with the other. Her nails scraped along his spine, and he snapped.    
  
Groaning in satisfaction, John pulled out swiftly, barely catching his Rose soaked length in hand to spill his completion onto her curls and skin. Shaking, unable to calm his pounding heart, he dropped to his forearms over her and smiled as she tilted her chin to brush their lips together. “Blimey... that was-“    
  
“Brilliant.” Rose mewled as she lowered her legs slowly to trail her foot along his bare calf, making his already over-sensitized body shiver. “Mmmm didn’t know it could feel so good.” She pushed playfully at his shoulders, and John willingly rolled onto his back to open his arms.    
  
To his surprise, she swung up to straddle him, and he arched a brow until he caught sight of the haphazard marks scattered across her collar bone and chest. That made him smirk as he caught her hips in his hands.Hmmmm, looks like you can’t wander round shirtless.” She purred, ghosting her hand along his shoulder.    
  
“You should see you.” Rose knew, even before he spoke, that he had left love bites along her skin. He often did, but back home she didn’t have to hide them. Home, she rather liked the sound of that. “Good thing it’s still a bit nippy here, because summer dresses would make people gossip.”    
  
“Let them.” Rose was more than satisfied, but she definitely wasn’t finished with the Doctor. She wanted more of that, preferably with her in this position next. She already knew how good it could feel when she straddled his face and gripped the headboard. “‘M your Lady, remember.” Playfully, she rolled her hips down into him, giggling as he jerked when her messy curls brushed along his rapidly softening length.    
  
“Mmmm yes you are!” Rose squealed as he flipped her onto her back and braced his hands on either side of her head. “Now, I know that tub in your ensuite is big enough for two. Why don’t we go get cleaned up?”    
  
“Why? You’re just gonna get me messy again in about an hour.” Rose’s teasing tone made John growl low in his chest. She’d been nigh on insatiable before, and now it seemed he had created a monster. He was absolutely not complaining.   
  
“Not messy if it’s in the water.” He quipped, playful reaching down to swat her thigh. Like it always did, that made a hungry glint flash in her eyes. Riding high on his release and her touch, John scrambled from the bed to scoop her into his arms. Tomorrow, he’d give her the biggest surprise of her life.   
  
  
  
  



	20. Chapter 20

John straightened his coat as he made his way through the open archway that led out to the massive courtyard where the wash women did the castle laundry. Privy to his plan, Rory and Amy had claimed Rose for a morning ride while he said he had one final errand to run while they were in the capitol. Rose had been reluctant, but he wanted to make sure the surprise was perfect. He owed it to her after his mistake yesterday.    
  
“Excuse me, Miss. I’m looking for a Jacqueline Tyler?” He stopped a woman who was barking out orders to some new maids fumbling with armfuls of table cloths from the dinner the night before.    
  
“She’ll be over in the breeze way, my Lord. She’s on hangin’ duty today.” The woman curtsied and pointed towards three women on the far side, hanging up sheets on a line. Two had brunette hair pulled back into braids, but one had familiar blonde hair, longer than Rose’s though.    
  
“Thank you.” He nodded and began picking his way through the crowd. When he approached the women, he felt his hands shaking in nervousness. He’d just paid Jackie’s remaining thirty pounds, and the declaration of her freedom was in his inner pocket. “Excuse me, ladies, but I’m looking for a Jacqueline Tyler.”    
  
“That’s me, mi’lord.” Just as he had guessed, the blonde woman turned to give a short curtsy. “What can I do for ya? Did I mess up your clothes or not press your sheets properly?”    
  
“No, I mean, I don’t even know if you did my sheets.” John felt his voice pitch up as he saw Rose’s cheeks and chin evident in Jackie’s face. This was her mother all right. “I, um, I was wondering if you might take a walk with me? There’s something we need to discuss.”    
  
“Of course.” Jackie flashed a confused look at her fellow workers, before untying her apron and hanging it on a nearby peg. “Am I in trouble?” He extended his arm, and there was fear on her face as she took it.    
  
“No, not at all.” He cast a look down at her  stained uniform, but was pleased to see she looked as healthy and well cared for as all castle servants, indentured or hired. “Do you know who I am?”    
  
“Yeah, you’re Lord Smith, Royal Inventor.” Jackie nodded, the fear gone but her face was guarded and unsure. “Used to collect your laundry when you lived here, and I changed out the sheets in your room and your lady’s room last night durin’ the party.” She’d been in their rooms? She knew he was here with someone. He shouldn’t be surprised. Castle staff knew everything. “Is she unhappy with the beds?”    
  
“No, my Lady was extremely pleased.” He had to clear his throat, hoping fervently she hadn’t collected their bedding that morning, or this conversation was going to possibly turn violent. They had reached a hallway leading out to the main portion of the castle. John hoped that the seamstresses had delivered the clothes and shoes he’d purchased to the room he had requested for her. “I, well, I have a gift for you, from her actually.” He swallowed hard, wondering why this was so nerve wracking.   
  
“A gift, for me?” Jackie released his arm, as they stopped to let a guard pass. She planted a hand on her hip, looking even more wary. Now he knew where Rose got that expression from.   
  
“Gifts, actually, but most important is this.” He placed a hand on her back. “But first, tell me, do you have a family?” John angled her towards the stairs to the guest wing. “A husband or children maybe?”    
  
“‘M a widow, but my daughter, Rose, she’s indentured to the O’briens.” There was a sadness in her voice, and John knew she had heard rumors about how badly they treated their staff. “‘Aven’t seen her in twelve years, but I miss her so much.”    
  
“I bet. I miss my family too.” He drew in a shaky breath as they reached the visitor wing and turned her opposite of the hall leading to his and Rose’s rooms. “It’s like there’s a hole in your gut, all empty and gnawing.” He paused at the second door, before opening the key. “My Lady wants to have lunch with you, but you’ll probably want to change.”    
  
“Change into what?” Jackie asked, sounding even more bewildered, and John ushered her in, breathing in a sigh of relief at the dresses laid out on the bed beside shoe boxes. “What’s all this?”    
  
“Gifts. Go on, pick one out.” He watched as she approached the bed, staring at them. “But before you fuss, which I know you’ll do.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out the scroll. “Another gift from my Lady, your freedom.” He tugged at his ear as she took the scroll in shaking hands to unroll it.   
  
“My... my freedom?” Jackie gasped, as she stared down at the parchment declaring her debt paid in full as well as granting her citizenship in his lands should she want it. “No offense, mi’lord, but why?”    
  
“Because she hates families being torn apart. So much in fact, that she also paid off the debt for every indentured servant of the O’briens.” John smiled cautiously as Jackie plopped onto the bed in shock. “I’m sure you heard there was a bit of a catfight last night.”    
  
“Yeah, but didn’t get all the gossip because of my duties.” Jackie looked up at him again, her blue eyes wide and sparkling with tears. “I’m really free? My Rosie is free?!”    
  
“Yes, and most definitely yes.” John grinned and oofed as Jackie flew to her feet to hug him tightly. “You’re welcome, Miss Tyler.” He laughed as she pulled apart. “But my Lady will be back from her morning ride soon. She’s got tea for you in the gardens.” Well, technically he had tea set up, but it was basically the same. “Go on, wash off and change. This room and is yours until we leave, and all of these things are for you.”   
  
“Your Lady is too kind!” She exclaimed, seizing a dress blindly and hurrying to the door to the ensuite. “But what’dya mean until we leave, mi’lord.”    
  
“Well, you know my land borders the O’briens, and we’ve got things for your daughter as well.” He hoped he wasn’t giving too much away, but apparently not because Jackie disappeared. “Tell me, Miss Tyler.” He called through the door, as he fiddled with one of the boxes. “You’ve known of me for about nine years. What do you think of me? What have you heard?” He quickly added, just to be certain she was truthful. “Speak honestly. I won’t get mad.”   
  
“You were a bit of a womanizer ‘nd wild when you first came, but after your family’s accident.” Jackie’s voice was briefly absent, he heard water splashing. “You calmed down. Far as I’ve heard, you’re a good man, bit odd, but not cruel or nasty.” He heard shoes hitting the floor, and relaxed some at her words. Good, so she didn’t think he was still the same.    
  
“I want to propose to my Lady, but I’m not sure her family will approve. You’re a mum. Do you think I’d be a good husband.” He knew these questions were probably confusing her, but he needed to know, because the ring in his pocket was feeling heavy.    
  
“Don’t know you well enough to judge, mi’lord.” Her voice came through the door, and John sighed internally. “But you haven’ been in any scandals, ‘n the Royal Family thinks highly of you. ‘M sure her parents will think you a good match, since they permitted her to come to court with you. That’s pretty much proposin’ anyways.”    
  
“She doesn’t know that though.” John moved to look out the window, as the trumpet blast announcing Rory’s return sounded. Jack would be waiting to escort Rose to the garden for what he was supposed to tell her was a meal with John and a friend. “She’s only recently titled.”    
  
“Then maybe her parents don’ know either.” The door opened, as Jackie came out wearing a pale blue dress in a similar cut to lower nobility. “‘S a bit posh, this dress. Look like a noble lady mi’self.” If only she knew that she was, but that would wait. “Heard the Prince’s trumpet. We better hurry. Ladies don’ like to be kept waitin’.”    
  
“May I escort you, Jackie? Can I call you Jackie?” John pulled the door open for her to pass through and extended his arm.   
  
“You’re the Lord, don’ ya just call people whatever you like?” Jackie seemed to have relaxed a bit, but he could tell she was biting back questions. Her eyebrows narrowed just like Rose’s, but she didn’t fiddle with her hair.    
  
“I’ve got manners, most of the time.” He laughed as she looped her arm through his. “You know I was born a peasant too, right? My mum taught me to always ask.”    
  
“I didn’t know that.” Jackie visibly relaxed even more. “Must be why your Lady chose you over all the other titled bachelors.”    
  
“One of the reasons.” He mused, as his heart began to race. Being on a lower floor, it was a short walk to the Royal Family’s private garden. Queen Matilda had agreed to the location with enthusiasm. “And call me John, or Doctor. I don’t like being called Lord, and she doesn’t like being called Lady.”    
  
“Your Lady, what’s her name? Don’ wanna walk up not knowing.” Jackie paused as they reached stone path that led up to a covered gazebo. John could hear Rose singing and the clink of tea cups on saucers.    
  
“Well,” John led her around the bushes blocking their view and smiled when he saw Rose standing with her back to them. “You know her name already.”    
  
“No, I don’t.” Jackie scoffed, and their voices caused Rose to turn.    
  
“Doctor! There you are! This the friend?” He felt Jackie stiffen beside him, as her hand slipped away. Rose was looking between them with that tongue touched smile. That smile faltered, and the teacup in her hand fell to shatter on the stones.   
  
Rose had felt wonderful all morning, after sleeping so soundly and satisfied that John’d alarm had barely roused her. She had been eager to see what surprise and friend John had for her to meet, after he assured her it was something she would enjoy and not scream at him for. When he had walked up with the woman, her voice had seemed familiar, like someone from a dream. It brought her a strange feeling of comfort, which made her turn with a smile. That’s what had turned her world on its head.   
  
She knew those blue eyes, though there were crows feet now creasing the corners. She knew those arms, though they were wider than she remembered. She knew those lips, how they felt against a fevered brow and scraped knee. That smile was one she’d dreamed of, hoped to see again, and she felt tears of joy come bursting out as she gasped. “Mummy!”    
  
She didn’t even think, flying down the path as her mum met her halfway. Rose threw herself in her arms, sobbing into her neck as she felt the long forgotten feeling of safety only a mother’s embrace could bring. “Rose, my baby girl, oh my sweetheart.” Jackie pulled back enough to  cup her face. “‘S it really you?”    
  
“‘S me. Is it you?” Rose touched her face, drinking in the watery smile on her mother’s face. “He found you. John found you!” She hugged her again, burying her face into her hair. “I missed you so much. I can’ believe it’s you!”    
  
“‘S me! Lord Smith and his Lady paid off my debt. He said they freed you too.” Rose looked up at the Doctor, who was watching them both with a broad grin and pleased look. “Didn’ know they brought you with them!” Hadn’t he told Jackie yet? “Let me look at you, you’re so beautiful. I was so worried the O’briens had done to you what they did to the others!”    
  
“They did.” Rose couldn’t keep her hands off of Jackie’s arms, could stop touching her, afraid it was a dream. “But, I ran away, and the Doctor, John, he found me. Fixed me up. Freed me and promised to free you too.”    
  
“Are you working for him and his lady now?” Rose swallowed a giggle as her mum stroked her cheeks. “You look jus’ like your dad.”    
  
“Mum, ‘m not working for John.” She pressed her face into her palm, sighing at the maternal touch she had been deprived of for years. “I’m his Lady, Mum. Well, technically only been a Lady for a day, but we’ve been properly together since just after Yule.” She watched as the realization dawned on her mother’s face. “He promised me he’d find you, and... oh! I can’ believe it’s you!” She hugged her mother again, laughing as she accepted that this was real.    
  
“You’re his Lady?!” Jackie stuttered, as they broke apart again. Rose nodded, flicking her eyes up at the marvelous man who was looking both proud and a bit nervous. “But, but, he brought you ta court! You have adjoinin’ rooms! He escorted you to the ball!”    
  
“Well, yeah.” Rose wiped her eyes, lacing her fingers with her mother’s. “Come sit. You’ve probably been up since dawn, and ‘m sore from ridin’ all morning.” She tugged her up to the table. “Sorry, I broke a cup. I’ll send for anoth-“    
  
“Don’t worry about it, love. Jackie can use my cup.” The Doctor hurried past them to pull out the chairs, and she let her mum sit first before taking her own. She reached for the porcelain tea pot, but he tsked. bent down to pull their cups towards him. “My turn to serve. You did breakfast.” Unthinking, she kissed his cheek as he bent down to pull their cups towards him.    
  
“Thanks, ta.” Rose grinned as she turned back to her mother, who was watching them with open shock on her tear soaked face. “What? Mum, what’s the matter?”    
  
“Are you pregnant?!” Her mum half shouted, glaring daggers at the Doctor, who had yelped as he scalded his hand at her words.    
  
“No!” Rose scoffed, as she realized the line of thought she must be following. Rose had been down it before many times. Why would a Lord want a servant girl? “‘M not his mistress, Mum.”   
  
“She’s telling the truth, Jackie.” He confirmed, as he began filling their plates from the tray in the center. “I love Rose more than I can express.” She watched as his fingers twitched against his pocket, wondering why he did it. She pushed it aside, turning back to her mum.   
  
“What happened to your face?” Rose had forgotten about the bruised cheek she had tried to conceal with makeup. “He hit you? You can tell me.”    
  
“Mum, no! The Doctor would never hurt me.” She squeezed her hand, trying to keep her calm. “It was Reinette. ‘S complicated, but see, he sort of told them I died in his forests and paid off my remaining debt. So when we she saw me last night, I sassed off. She backhanded me. I slapped her, and blimey it felt amazin’ to do it, after all the beatin’s.”    
  
“You can’t have her!” Rose flinched as her mother surged to her feet. “I just got her back, and you wanna take her back to the freezing castle of yours and keep her from me! I won’t let you!”    
  
“Mum!” Rose tugged her back down, as John winced away at her shouting. “You’re comin’ with us. ‘M his successor, so ‘s my castle too. Besides, ‘s not so cold. He has all these wonderful inventions.” Her mother was still staring at the Doctor, as if she knew something about him Rose didn’t. He was blushing profusely, all while looking terrified and sick. “Mum, I love him, and he loves me. I’ve already got your room set up ‘nd everythin!”    
  
“Rose, are you sure? You’re so young, and we just found each other again.” Her mother was touching her face again, her turquoise eyes flicking between Rose’s amber one. “Marriage?” Rose choked on her spit as John made a strangled noise.    
  
“Sorry, what?” Rose had to laugh at that question. Marriage? John wasn’t the marrying sort. That’s why he’d named her his successor instead of marrying her before they came. She didn’t care, because she knew he loved her as an equal. “I’m not married to him. I’m his successor.”    
  
“He brought you to court as his Lady. He introduced you to the Royals as his lady. You have adjoining rooms!” How the hell did she know that? Right, she had been in the laundry maids. “And he said-“    
  
“Jackie!” The Doctor sounded half desperate as he cut her off. Rose jerked her head towards him, and he had both hands in his lap.    
  
“Hang on!” Jackie jerked her head back to him, and Rose saw a look she couldn’t describe on her face. “She really doesn’ know does she?” Know what? Rose was so confused. There was a silent conversation going on between them, one she couldn’t decipher. “What you asked earlier, John, while I was changin’.” She saw him tense, lowering his gaze as if expecting a slap. “I change my answer.” Rose was about to cut in, to ask what the hell was going on because he looked absolutely crushed as those normally cheerful eyes looked up at her mum. “I know you’d be a good match.”    
  
Rose’s question died on her lips as his face broke into a look of relief and wonder. “I have your blessing?!” He shouted, leaping to his feet so swiftly the chair fell back.    
  
“You do.” There was something sad in her mother’s face, a look that vanished almost instantly as Rose caught up with what was occurring. The Doctor was half tripping around the table, and suddenly he was on his knees in front of her.    
  
“This wasn’t exactly how I planned to ask, but since your mum already blurted out my plan.” She gasped as he held up a sparkling sapphire ring that had two diamonds framing the main stone. “Wanted to do this before we left, but I couldn’t without her blessing. Rose Marion Tyler, I love you. Will you marry me?”    
  
“Oh, John.” Rose looked back at her mum, who gave a soft smile and nodded once. “Yes! A million times yes!” She sobbed, as the joy she already felt at finding her mum was bolstered by her love for him. She held out her hand, as he slid the ring on and pulled her up to stand. Their lips met in a passionate press, as he wrapped his arms around her and lifted her up.    
  
Rose had her mum back. Her friends would soon be free, and The Doctor wanted her to be his wife. She didn’t think her world could get any more perfect.


	21. Chapter 21

“Your hair used to be so long.” Jackie sighed behind Rose, where she was gently combing the shoulder length strands out. “Used to get tangled ‘nd knotted, but any time I mentioned cutting it, your dad threw a fit.” Rose didn’t remember that, but many of her memories had been dimmed over the years. They were seated in her room, having left the wedding reception a bit early. She’d wanted to spend time with her mum, but also wanted her usual full evening with the Doctor.    
  
“They cut it when I got to the O’briens.” Rose couldn’t remember that very well either. The years had sort of blurred together. “‘M glad you were treated well, mum. I never stopped missin’ you.” It was true, and being back with her mother eased the ache that had been in her gut for years.    
  
“I missed you too.” Jackie set the comb aside and pulled her up to sit on the sofa. “My babygirl is all grown up, and tomorrow you’ll be gettin’ married. I wish your father was here.” There was that shadow again, the one that kept flicking across her mum’s face. Rose wondered if she wasn’t as okay with the wedding as she pretended to be, but didn’t want to ask. “Never seen a man so besotted over someone as John is with you.”    
  
“Sometimes I can’t believe he actually chose me.” Rose sighed as she snuggled into her mum’s side. Even though she was grown, being there recalled the feeling of being young and happy. “Was terrified of ‘im when we first met.” They had given Jackie brief details of how he had met, but they hadn’t explained everything, like Tardis. “You’re really giving us your blessin?” She gazed down at the sapphire on her finger.    
  
“Not exactly happy that you’re marryin’ so soon after us gettin’ back to each other, but as long as he makes you happy.” Jackie chuckled, and it was broken by a brief cough. Rose looked up, as she waved her hand in front of her face and swallowed. “Here, lemme get some wine.”    
  
“I’ll get it.” Rose scrambled to her feet to pour a goblet full. Then she settled back next to her mother. The older Tyler smiled and gave another dry cough. “You all right, Mum? Should I fetch a healer?”    
  
“‘M fine.” She sipped the wine and patted Rose’s face. “Jus’ my lungs clearin’ out after bein’ away from the soaps and fumes of the laundry’s all. Don’t worry.”    
  
“Yeah, the soaps always made my chest hurt too.” Rose relaxed as her mother stopped coughing. “The air in the mountains will help. Takes a while to adjust to how thin it is, but then it’s refreshing.” She stared out the window at the lights of the city, biting back a smile as she heard the Doctor’s door close in the next room. “‘S just gonna be us three, until the spring garden staff comes up. You should see the inventions he’s installed. Our bath has a tank that heats water! I asked him to put one on your bath, but ‘s not finished.”    
  
“Hang on.” Jackie set her goblet down, and Rose winced as she spun with a sharp look. “Your bath, as in both of you?! Rose Marion, have you been sharing a room with him?” Rose winced as she realized what she had unintentionally let slip. She felt her cheeks flush, as she avoided her blue eyes and looked down at her hands.    
  
“Yes, but, ‘s not what you think.” She looked up as her mum made a displeased noise, narrowing her eyes. “We both have nightmares, bad ones, but when we fall asleep together, they aren’ so bad.” Jackie glanced over at the bed, and she knew her mum had figured out the reason the Doctor had asked for adjoining rooms. “He’s never pressured me into doin’ anything though.” That was true, in a sense. Oh they’d already plunged over that line, but not because he asked. Rose had started all of it, but she wasn’t telling her mum that.    
  
“He better not, or I’ll kill ‘im.” Jackie promised, and Rose giggled. “I won’t have my daughter gettin’ into anything that makes her upset.” Oh nothing he’d done had made her upset in the least. “You sure he wants me comin’ with ya’ll. Most men aren’t keen with their mother in law livin’ with them.”    
  
“The Doctor wants whatever makes me happy, ‘nd havin you there will make me happy.” Rose reached down to squeeze her mum’s hand. She was pleased to be with her again, but it was like trying to get to know a stranger. She still loved her, but she wasn’t a little girl anymore. They’d both missed so much.    
  
“Why d’ya always call him that?” Right, Jack’s rumors only spread out in the border lands. Here in the castle and town, everyone knew the truth. “The Doctor. ‘S a strange nickname.”    
  
“When he first came out to the mountains, he didn’ want people botherin’ him.” Rose giggled a bit, remembering how the stories had terrified her. Now they seemed silly. “So Jack spread all these rumors about him experimentin’ on people. They called him a mad scientist, a dark doctor, and so when I heard about him, I always heard him as the Doctor. Just sort of stuck. Feels weird calling him John most of the time.”    
  
“Must have scared you when you woke up.”   
  
“Gods yes. Took me almost three weeks to believe he wasn’ gonna kill me.” Rose shook her head at her own ignorance. She was surprised he had been so patient with her. “Then we just sort of clicked together.”    
  
“Look at you. Arse over teakettle.” Rose blushed as her mum wrapped an arm around her for a hug. “Reminds me of how I felt when I met your dad. I know he’d be proud of you.” She gave a yawn, and Rose mirrored it reflexively. “Sorry, bit tired after all that food and dancin’. Think ‘m gonna turn in. I’ll see you in the mornin’.”    
  
“Love you, Mum.” Rose followed her to the door and pulled her into a hug again. “See ya in the mornin’.”    
  
“I’ll be in early to fix your hair! You’re gonna look so beautiful sweetheart.” Rose accepted her cheek kiss and returned it. She had barely shut the door, smiling contentedly, when the one joining the rooms opened and the Doctor stumbled in.    
  
“Been waiting forever.” He chuckled, and Rose smiled as he swaggered over to her. “You left the party two hours ago... two whole hours.” She drew in a deep inhale as he plunged his hands into her hair and pressed their foreheads together. “You know how dangerous it is to be with Jack for two hours?” The fragrance of sweet wine mixed with spiced whiskey broke over her lips. “And I couldn’t kiss you for two whole hours. That’s a tragedy that is.”    
  
“Doctor, are you drunk?” Rose giggled into his lips as he pressed them into hers. She looped her arms around his neck, sighing as he nipped playfully at her lower lip.    
  
“Maybe, dunno. God you’re beautiful.” John couldn’t think about anything but tasting Rose’s lips. He’d missed her, and Jack had been giving him cup after cup while people egged him about finally getting the old ball and chain. “I don’t think marrying you is a ball and chain. Nope, love you too much.”    
  
“‘M gonna kill Jack.” Rose was wiggling out of his arms, and that was another tragedy. He turned, following the delightful sight of her thin night dress. “You need to go to bed.” Oh! Bed, right. “Getting married in twelve hours, and my husband is tanked.”    
  
“‘M not tanked.” John wasn’t drunk. Jack was drunk. He’d disappeared with three of the dancers from Boeshane. There had been a redheaded one named Myrna who had tried to flirt him back to his room. He’d refused, and then went to find his love. “I’m just a bit tipsy.” Oh her lips looked so soft. “Will you hold still so I can kiss you?” He cornered her against a dresser, and he was pleased with himself as he lifted her up to sit on it. “There, now. Jack can have his Boeshane dancers. I’ve got my Rose.” Why wouldn’t she stop giggling? He was trying to kiss her.    
  
“Yeah you do.” Rose finally stopped giggling, and John caught her lips in a deep kiss. He pulled her knees apart, moving in closer so he could hold her as his tongue explored hers. His body stirred in his pants, as it always did when she was so close to him. “Mmmm, you did miss me didn’ you.”    
  
“Well, yeah. You’re my favorite person.” Oh, this dresser was the perfect height. It’d be so easy for him to slide her night dress up and prove how much he’d missed his Rose. “Didn’t you miss me?” He wanted to taste her neck, and it was so pleasantly exposed that he let himself, while his fingers edged up the inside of her thighs.    
  
“Yes.” He loved how she went high when he touched her curls. She wasn’t wet yet, but he could fix that. John nudged her hair back to suck the lobe of her ear gently. “Doctor... you’re drunk.” She pressed down into his fingers, and he felt the dampness begin to form. “We should sleep.”    
  
“Make love to you first, and then sleep.” That seemed like a solid plan, and Rose’s hands were pulling at his belt. “Right here.”    
  
Rose knew she should get him into bed, but his hands were magic between her thighs and on her breasts. His lips were delicious, and his tongue was playful. Honestly, she was pleased that he was so eager for her. Technically they were supposed to be apart until the ceremony, and he could have wandered off with Jack and the other men for a proper stag night. Instead, he’d come to her.    
  
She hummed in delight as she dipped her hands into his pants to find him rock hard, and she freed him from the tight material to stroke him. The growls and groans he made only increased the waves of ecstasy his fingers were giving her as they pressed and circled her. Now that she knew how wonderful it felt to have him inside of her, Rose was aching for it. “What’re you waiting for?” She teased, wrapping her legs around his waist. Being on top of the dresser had her yearning enter perfectly leveled and her lips were even with his.    
  
“For you to get this wet.” John slid his fingers away, holding them up in the light to show her arousal coating them. Humming, he sucked them clean as Rose began kissing her way along his neck. He seized her hips, bringing her closer to the edge, and then he groaned as his yearning erection stroked through her folds. “I love you.”    
  
“Love you too.” John barely tasted her kiss again before she was reaching between them. Her expert fingers squeezed, making his head spin, and then the tip of him was poised at her dripping center. “Need you.” She whimpered, and he wasn’t about to deny her.    
  
Rose buried her hands in the Doctor’s hair as he slid into her. The angle, her legs wrapped, the perfect height of the dresser had him thrusting up to the spot his fingers enjoyed exploring. She saw stars, when at the same time his hip bone rubbed right against the hood bud at her apex. This was wonderful, heated, euphoria as he held her steady with one hip and fisted her hair gently with the other.    
  
John was in bliss, as he rocked into the beautiful woman who loved him. She was so tight this way, so perfect. Normally he wanted to take his time, slowly tease her to the edge, but right now he just needed to feel her come undone. Breaking his lips away, he grabbed her thighs in both hands, angling her hips up, and he grinned when she dug her nails into his shirt and keened her delight to the roof. He was hungry for her, desperate with the way the room was spinning and his head was buzzing. “Let go for me. I need to feel you.” He gasped.    
  
Rose couldn’t respond. The intensity and speed of his thrusts had rendered her speechless, as each rock stroked her hooded bud against his skin. She clung to him, unable to move where she was pinned, and she let herself feel it. She was close, so close. The wave of ecstasy was coming into her hard and fast, and she tightened her legs, digging her heels into his rear. “John!” She tossed her head back, sobbing in pleasure as she didn’t fall, so much as launch over the edge.    
  
“Rose.” John crooned as she tightened around him, clenching flutters as she writhed against him. He had needed that, need to hear and feel her. Now he could have his own, and he chased it, seeking it in her velvet heat. It was just there, almost, and her teeth pulled at his neck. John thrust himself hard into her, pulling Rose as close as he could, and he cried out as his released coursed out of him, filling her, sending waves of nirvana along his spine.    
  
“Mmmmm feel better?” Rose giggled into his neck, as the Doctor’s forehead pressed into her shoulder. She stroked his back, shuddering at the aftershocks washing through her. She didn’t think they’d ever reached completion so fast, even with their hands and mouth, but it had been wonderful.    
  
“Loads better.” John was properly pleased as he unwound her legs and eased her to the floor. He kissed her adorable nose, and then he wrapped her in his arms. A happy thought filled his mind. “Tomorrow, we’re getting married.”    
  
“That’s what I’ve been tellin’ you, you plum.” He whimpered as she pulled out of his arms and headed towards the door to the wash room. John stumbled, glowering down as his pants shifted down his thighs. He kicked off his boots and was glad to be rid of the pants after. “Yeah, you’re not drunk at all.” Rose giggled.    
  
“Just on you.” The Doctor’s smooth retort made Rose blush. Grabbing a soft cloth, she dampened it in the water meant for her face in the morning, and then she lifted her dress to clean the evidence of their frantic coupling. “Hey! That’s my job!” She rolled her eyes in amusement as he stumbled towards her.    
  
“Get in bed, you loon.” John was a bit put out at her order. He happened to like wiping her curls and folds clean after they’d been intimate. Most of the time he was able to coax her into another climax. “‘M not having you hung over on our wedding day.”    
  
Rose sighed in relief as he finally listened, and she tossed the cloth aside to gather his clothes off the floor and fold them neatly. She loved how he looked, bare, naked, smiling up at her as he patted her spot beside him. After setting the timer on the alarm, she joined him in the sheets, and sighed happily as he wrapped his arms around her and draped a leg over her thighs. “Sweet dreams, love.” He yawned into her hair.    
  
“Sweet dreams, Doctor.” John sighed in contentment as she kissed his chest. He was feeling tired now, and having Rose in his arms always lulled him off easily. Tomorrow, she’d be his wife, and he’d never been happier.


	22. Chapter 22

Rose felt a bit dizzy as she stood in the corridor that led out to the gardens. “Breathe, sweetheart.” Her mother fiddled with her veil, as Rose tried to keep her breathing even. Her white and blue dress felt strangely tight, despite it being no more constricting than her gowns from the engagement ball and the royal wedding. “Every woman feels a bit nauseated on their big day.”    
  
“Jus’ can’t believe it’s happenin’.” She wanted to marry the Doctor, with every fibre of her being. It was everything else that went with it that terrified her. She would officially be part of court, would be expected to actively understand the going ons of the kingdom, and she had, literally, no clue what all of that entailed. “Maybe you were right. Maybe ‘s too soon. Maybe we should have waited until summer.”    
  
She shifted her weight, clutching the small box of gems, gold, and coins that Queen Melinda had given her as a dowry. Well, she hadn’t given it so much as Rose had insisted she buy something from her in exchange. Now Rose was short her favorite riding boots, a pair of black satin gloves, and a bottle of perfume. She thought it was a paltry exchange, but was eternally grateful that her mother would not be approaching the Doctor empty handed.    
  
“That was before I knew you were sharin’ a bedroom, and if you don’ marry himself out there, the gossip will start.” Jackie took the box, and Rose didn’t know what to do with her hands. “Won’ have my daughter’s name bein’ drug through the muck.” She tried hard to focus on her mother’s blue eyes, but the heavy veil made everything rough blurs.    
  
“I know... I know...” Rose frankly could give two flips about the gossip, but it could pose problems in the future. “What if he’s only doin’ this because of that though. What if he doesn’ want to marry me because he honestly wants me as his wife.”    
  
“John doesn’t do anything he doesn’t want to.” The voice of King Brian made Rose squeak, as her mum dipped into a curtsy. She tried to mimic her, but strong hands caught her arm. Wasn’t he supposed to be out in the small crowd in the garden? “Hope you don’t mind if I impose. Seeing as you don’t have a father or a brother, and I’m father of the kingdom, I thought perhaps I could escort you with your mother.”    
  
“Your Majesty, that’s too generous.” Jackie voiced the words that choked on Rose’s tongue. “We couldn’t ask that of you.”    
  
“You and her Grace have done enough already.” Rose honestly didn’t know how to accept his offer. She was still getting used to the fact that he was a genuinely kind man. “I don’ wanna impose.”    
  
“Nonsense. I volunteered. John doesn’t even know I slipped back here.” Brian’s chuckle was warm and friendly, and Rose clutched his forearm to bring the swirling world back into stability. “You can say no, my Lady.”    
  
She knew she could, but she also knew that this was the highest Honor he could bestow, higher than officiating even. She was overwhelmed by his generosity and unspeakably thankful. “I’d be honored, Your Grace, if you escorted me and my mum down the aisle.” Rose blinked back tears of gratitude.    
  
“Well, they are all ready when you ladies are.” His voice was calm and comforting, and Rose swallowed as she nodded to the blurred outline of her mum. “Lady Jacqueline, if you’d proceed.” She watched as her mother began stepping ahead of them. Rose fisted her trembling fingers into the thick material of the King’s coat sleeve. “You know, Rose, I don’t have any daughters of my own to give away. This is just as much an honor to me.” He began following, and Rose went practically blindly.    
  
“Thank you, for doin’ this. I can’ even begin to explain what this means to my mum and me.” The slightly warm breeze struck her exposed arms, and the small crowd was a smudge of shadows beyond her opaque silk. “I shouldn’t be this nervous. I love him.”    
  
“Judging by the way John’s jaw just hit the altar, he loves you too.” King Brian chuckled softly, and Rose felt her heart soar. “If it makes you feel better, I threw up three times on my wedding day.” His whisper as he patted her fingers made her giggle a bit manically. “Nearly there.” She drew a ragged breath as her mum’s outline stopped just before her. She hoped she didn’t hurl, as they stilled beside her.    
  
“You may all be seated.” The voice of Lord Rhys carried over the crowd, and she swallowed hard. “Ladies and gentlemen, friends and family, we’re gathered here together to witness the union of Lord John Smith and Lady Rose Tyler.” King Brian squeezed her fingers, as he lifted her hand from his arm.    
  
“I do.” Her mother’s voice was loud but firm as it carried out. “To publicly show my blessin’ on the marriage, I present Lord John with this dowry.” She saw his lithe shadow step down to peer into the box.    
  
“I accept your blessings, such as they are.” At the sound of the Doctor’s voice, Rose’s nerves disappeared into vapor. How could she have been so nervous? He was towering over her now, as his fingers drifted to the base of her veil and lifted. It was a silly tradition, in Rose’s opinion, to hide her face. It had been almost nine hundred years since some long forgotten family had tried to trick a former king into marrying their eldest daughter instead of the younger one he’d chosen. Tradition  was tradition.    
  
The morning sun blinded her for a moment, but then Rose took in his smile. Thankfully, his bag eyed hangover seemed gone. “This is the woman I proposed to.” The confirmation carried out, and Rose beamed up in response. She didn’t think she’d ever loved him as fiercely as she did at that moment.    
  
“Her hand.” King Brian passed her fingers to the Doctor, and Rose felt a thrill of assurance as soon as he clasped them. She barely registered him and her mum backing away as the Doctor turned and led her up to Lord Rhys.    
  
“Marriage is a sacred joining that should not be entered into lightly.” John barely processed Rhy’s words, as he wondered at the love and devotion in Rose’s face. He had been half out of his mind with worry, voicing them to Jack as his friend showed up with an herbal tonic for his hangover and to help him dress and go over the ceremony. What if Rose didn’t really love him, was only using him? What if she was only doing this because she felt indebted to him? Did she really want to be his wife? Jack had assured him she did. “Lord Smith and Lady Tyler have already sworn they have no secrets that may invalidate their vows, but if anyone else has a reason they should not be wed, speak now of forever hold your peace.”   
  
“Don’ think anyone knows us well enough to speak up.” Rose’s almost inaudible murmur, as she glanced sideways out at the small audience made John giggle. It was mostly the few Nobles he was on amiable terms with, a handful of his old assistants, Jackie, Brian, Melinda, Jack, and maids and butlers Jackie had grown close to. He had been pleased to see Donna and Wilf in the middle of the crowd, and it cheered him up even more as he remembered they’d be coming up to the castle soon.   
  
“Since there are no objections, I now ask do you, Lord John Edward Smith vow to love and protect Lady Rose Marion Tyler? Do you promise to keep her in sickness and in health, for rich or for poor, to honor her dignity, be faithful in body and mind, and to bring no shame or harm to her as long as you both so live?”    
  
“I do.” John didn’t need the vows to promise her that. He belonged to Rose, and would never do anything to hurt her. Still, the two words lit such a wondrous light in her face, that it took all he had not to pull her warm hands and kiss her.    
  
“I ask do you, Lady Rose Marion Tyler, vow to love and support Lord John Edward Smith? Do you promise to keep him in sickness and in health, for rich or for poor, to honor him dignity, be faithful in body and mind, and to bring no shame or harm to him as long as you both so live?”   
  
“I do!” Rose’s voice washed any doubt that may have been nagging at him away. There was nothing but the rawest love in those two words, and he knew beyond anything she wanted him.    
  
“Then, by the powers vested in me as Lord of the Wildlands, I now pronounce you man and wife.” John swallowed hard as his heart skipped a beat. He didn’t even have to tug her hand, because Rose was already moving towards him. “You may seal your union with a kiss.”   
  
Rose felt like she was melting as the Doctor’s lips met hers. His hands were so gentle against her waist, as she slid her hands to his arms and sighed into his kiss. They were married, and she was in awe at that, at the thought that he was hers forever. She yearned for a deeper kiss, almost forgetting they weren’t alone, until the applause broke out and he pulled back. “I love you.” She murmured, reaching up to cup his face.    
  
“I love you.” John wanted nothing more than to whisk her off and hide her away, to spend the day in her arms, but he couldn’t. Grinning so broadly he felt like his face would split, he took her hand and led her down to the guests who showered them in handshakes and hugs until he could lead his beautiful bride to the small tables under jeweled toned canopies for their lunch reception.    
  
Rose didn’t really know anybody except the King, Queen, Gwen, and Rhys, but she quickly found herself in the center of her mum’s friends. They were all eager to meet her, congratulate her, and shower her with stories of Jackie’s time among them. One thing thing they all reiterated was how she had spoke of Rose every day. That knowledge filled her with warmth, as she watched Jack playfully coerce her mum into a dance. The Doctor was a few feet away, engaged in lighthearted banter with a ginger woman and a grandfatherly looking man.    
  
“Rose, love.” John caught Rose’s eye from the gaggle of servants who had been hogging her for the last half hour. “C’mere.” He fell in love with her all over again as her tongue touched grin graced her face as she picked her way over. “This is Donna and Wilf. I told you about them.”    
  
“Right! Of course!” Rose held out her hand to the pair. The Doctor had said the pair came up during the spring to tend the gardens and live stock. “It’s so nice to finally meet you!” Donna shook her hand firmly, but Wilf took it next and kissed her knuckles.    
  
“Granddad, Stop flirting.” Donna giggled, and John snickered as Wilf flashed him a wink. “It’s nice to meet you and to see skinny boy here actually laughing. It’ll be nice to have a girl to chat with when we come up there!”    
  
“Two, my mum’s coming too.” Rose turned to seek out Jackie. She expected her to be with her friends or Jack, but she couldn’t see her. Panic flared just a bit, until she spotted Jack. Her mother was with him, looking a bit breathless as she patted her chest and accepted the goblet he passed her. Obviously her mum wasn’t immune to Jack’s ability to fluster just about anyone.   
  
“You know.” John wrapped his arm around Rose’s waist, as he looked between the two people who had spent more time with him over the years than any of his other friends. “Now that I’m gonna have two more people to stock up for, maybe it’s time I took up your offer of staying year round.” He watched as the pair exchanged looks. “If it still stands.”    
  
“Of course it does!” Wilf’s laugh as he clapped the Doctor on the shoulder made Rose press in closer to her husband. Seeing him open up, to finally cast away the last remnants of his self imposed isolation was heartening. “If your new wife agrees!”    
  
“Of course I do!” Rose loved her time alone with the Doctor, but having others in the castle, filling it with laughter and friendship was something they both needed. She knew whoever was chosen would have to be carefully vetted, due to Tardis, but if he trusted them, she did too. “I bet Donna and I can have the grounds lookin’ like paradise!”    
  
“You know it.” John was pleased that Rose and Donna were already hitting it off. His Lady had so little friends, and seeing her opening up to new possibilities warmed him so much he had to kiss her hair. The sound of coughing, however, drew his eyes up.    
  
Jackie was standing near a maid, who handed her what looked like a unwrapped throat lozenge. He was worried for a moment, until she popped it into her mouth and pointed at a nearby bush that was flowering. Of course, she probably had a sensitivity to some bushes. Oak pollen set his eyes watering and scratched his throat, and he relaxed.    
  
“Dance with me.” Rose perked up as the small group of musicians began playing an upbeat tune, as she grabbed her husband’s hand. “Please, Doctor!”    
  
“Oh we’ll be dancing soon.” John chuckled as his words made her lips drop open in a gasp as he yielded to her command for a dance. Swirling her across the neatly trimmed grass, he leaned in for a deep kiss that made his heart skip.


	23. Chapter 23

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> MrsBertucci specifically requested that both of these events happen in the story. I hope I worked them in correctly

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger Warnings:  
> Cancer diagnosis

John rolled his shoulders as he tosses his soldering torch down. He was having a hard time concentrating, as he looked out at the first mildly warm afternoon on the mountain. It had been three months since the wedding, and sometimes it surprised him how normal life was. He had never imagined he could find this for himself, a wife, a surrogate family in a mother in law and self appointed grandad. Three months and his castle was full of laughter and warmth.    
  
Rose her mother, Donna, and Bill were down on the grounds while Wilf and Mickey were out mapping habitable areas in the forest and mountains. While he didn’t ever intend on his lands becoming as bustling as some of the others, a small village or two would be beneficial. All of those things, while on his mind, weren’t what was bothering him, distracting him. It was stemmed from one woman, and it had been bothering him for a few weeks now. Jackie was sick, even though she denied it.    
  
He had believed her, at first, the excuses about the thin air, the cold, the pollen from so many trees. Yet, Tardis, who usually stuck to his or Rose’s side, had been glued to his mother in law for days, even sleeping outside her door. Jackie knew the truth, after pestering them both on why the shewolf was so odd, and Rose said the reason Tardis followed her mum around was because Jackie kept bits of coal in her pockets like treats. John knew better.    
  
Jackie had lost weight since arriving, would break down into coughing fits, and she wasn’t as energetic as before. He’d tried mixing her tonics and teas meant for allergies and lung infections, which helped at first, but all it did was enable her to keep the symptoms hidden from Rose. He’d even mixed her up the medicines his mother had taught him to treat and abate consumption, but those weren’t working either. The fact that it hadn’t was the only reason he didn’t have her quarantined.    
  
“Doctor.” He looked up, as the object of his worried thoughts spoke from the doorway. She’d taken to using Rose’s nickname for him, and he hadn’t objected. Jackie was standing there, looking exhausted and pale. “Can we talk?”    
  
“Yeah, of course.” Tossing his gloves and goggles aside, John abandoned the project to stand up and approach her. He noticed she was clutching her ribs, and her breathing was a bit haggard. “You took the stairs didn’t you? I’ve told you to-“    
  
“I used the lifts, don’t badger me about-“ her huff was cut off by a violent cough that she covered with a kerchief. John dashed to get a glass of water and held it out to her. As she took it, he saw the phlegm in the yellow fabric was a dark green tinged with flecks of pink. She quickly hid it. “‘M sick.” She sighed, and John saw fear flash in her eyes.    
  
“I know.” He gestured to a chair, and when she sat, he dragged one over to sit across from her. “I need to know your symptoms besides coughing and weightloss.” She looked over towards the window, and John swallowed as he noticed the glands under her neck were visibly pushing the skin. “Hold still.” Quickly, he leaned forward, touching the lumps with his fingers. Jackie hissed, but didn’t move. This close, he saw something else that worried him. Her eyes were slightly yellowed.    
  
“I started coughin’ up blood this mornin’, but my back and pelvis ‘ave been aching for weeks. My chest hurts all the time now, deep inside.” Jackie swallowed hard, her voice raspy and coarse. “And I can’ lie flat anymore, or I cough so much I puke.” Those blue eyes pierced his, and John swallowed at the terror in them. “‘S consumption. I know it is.”    
  
“I don’t think so.” John surged to his feet, taking her hand. He hadn’t had reason to use the lab with the medical instruments in years, but it all worked. He knew what consumption looked like in the lungs, but he needed to be sure. “Come here. I need to examine your lungs.”    
  
“‘Ow you gonna do that?” Jackie followed him, and John led her down the hall go the usually untouched lab. “Nuh uh! You’re not experimentin’ on me!” John had to chuckle at he stubborn outburst and the way she was crossing her arms. He fired up the machine that could see past the skin to the bones and organs.    
  
“It’s not an experiment.” John pointed to the upright table along the wall, as he pulled the large trays down that would capture the images. He slid them into the holders. “Stand against these and put your arms up. This will let me see inside your lungs okay.”    
  
“How’s this supposed to help?” She mumbled, but for once did as she was told.    
  
“It will show me if it is consumption or something else.” He handed her a pair of goggles to cover her eyes. “Put these on. The light’s pretty bright.” Once they were in place, he flicked on the light and positioned it over her chest and abdomen. Then he stepped back to press the button. After a few seconds, the light flashed and he hurried around to grab the trays. “Leave the goggles on and turn around.” Quickly he fitted two new trays into place and repeated the technique. “All done.”    
  
“Doctor, what’d you jus’ do?” Jackie was watching him, looking a bit irritated but he carried the trays carefully over to the dark alcove for them to process. “How’s a bright light supposed ta see my lungs. You’re crazy. Can’ you jus’”    
  
“It’s too much to explain.” John set the thin sheets aside as he came back out to nudge her to a chair. “Have you had a fever?” He grabbed the thin tube with the amplifier he hadn’t had to use since Rose was wounded from its hook.    
  
“No. Just the coughin’ and pains.”   
  
“Headaches or dizzy spells?” He pushed her forward a bit to press the metal piece against her back and listen. The sounds in her breathing definitely weren’t indicative of consumption, but they were odd.    
  
“No.”    
  
“How much blood? Is it just blood? Is it mixed with the phlegm? How long have you had the cough?” John knew he was rambling, but his mind was working through the various diseases his mum had taught him and the ones he’d read about. He was hoping against hope that he was analyzing this wrong, that the connections he was making weren’t true. Symptoms like this did arise in women who spent years working in laundry, as well as miners and builders. He’d even read the symptoms in a healer’s notes from one of the prisoners he’d autopsied.    
  
“Started just before Yule, but I was feelin’ tired weeks before that.” Jackie drew another breath, and John pulled away as he saw the effort she was making to keep it steady. “‘M scared, Doctor, I jus’ got my Rose back. If it’s not consumption, can’t you fix it?”    
  
“It all depends on what’s on those films.” John moved away from her to retrieve the thin sheets and carry them over to the clips he’d installed on the window. The instant the sunlight penetrated the black and gray pictures, his heart sank. “Jackie, come here.” He swallowed hard as she joined him.    
  
“‘S that my insides?” She sounded a bit awestruck, but he couldn’t blame her. He gave a curt nod as he pointed first to her lungs. “Wha’s that?”    
  
“Your lungs.” John felt fear of his own begin to settle in, the old but not forgotten feeling of thinking the universe was punishing him. “But these white spots, they shouldn’t be there. It’s not consumption, Jackie.” He drew his finger along the filmy sheets. “Consumption would make one or two solid spots, but see how these are all spread out. They’re tumors, abnormal grows. I’ve seen them before, but double the size and number. Unfortunately, the man...” Jackie made a choking noise and John couldn’t finish.    
  
Instead he moved to the next set. “This is your liver and your kidneys. See how the liver had two big white spots as well? Tumors as well.” He let his hand fall down, as he turned to take in her horrified but confused appearance. “I’m so sorry, Jackie, but these tumors are going to grow and multiple. The one on your liver is slowly shutting the organ down. That’s why you’re hurting, why your eyes have begun to yellow. The ones in your lungs...” John lost his voice for a few moments, as the impending loss choked him. “They’ll... they’ll only multiply. There’s nothing I can do.”    
  
“How long?” Jackie’s voice was hollow, and it sent chills down his spine as she turned to cough again. It was all he could do to rub her back and blink back the tears.    
  
“I don’t really know. Two months, six, maybe a year.” He wiped his eyes as she looked up at him, the epitome of anguish, but the fear was gone. He didn’t understand or know how it could be, but Jackie cupped his face and sniffed.    
  
“There are medicines I can take for the symptoms, yeah? Tonics and herbs?”    
  
“Uh, yes. I can make you things to help with the pain and fatigue, try to keep your liver functioning as normally as possible, and there are herbs you can mix in your bath to help keep infection from your lungs.” John began mentally calculating how much he had in stock and what would be needed. The calm way she was handling the news perturbed him, but he didn’t want to ask. His own fears and panic were threatening to undo him, and he expected the feisty, strong willed woman to be ranting and raving.    
  
“Good, ‘m gonna go down to the kitchen and start on dinner.” She patted both of his cheeks with a shake of her head. “Don’t you breathe a word to my Rose. ‘M gonna tell her tonight. You just get back to work and get me those medicines, ‘kay.” With that, she turned, her head high, and she began striding from the room.    
  
“Jackie, wait!” John swallowed as she looked back at him. “I can make dinner. Why don’t you go back down to Rose and Donna?” He powered off the machine, intent on her getting rest and relaxation.    
  
“Because I need to think, ‘nd I can’ do that while lookin’ at my baby girl. I need ta be alone, Doctor. Just us three for dinner though, yeah?” With that she left John staring at the empty doorway, wondering why the universe insisted on torturing everyone he cared about.    
  
“What is with you?” Rose giggled as Donna flopped down onto the freshly sprouting grass. She watched as the beautiful mare the Doctor had gifted her with for her birthday, Amariel, was racing his stallion, Vortex, along the wall. “You’ve been giggling to yourself all day, smiling at nothing, and you kept talking to the flowers we were planting.”    
  
“Don’t forget the fact that she wouldn’t let us kill that nest of mice we found in the garden shed.” Bill plopped down on her other side, reaching over to tug a stray hair beside Rose’s cheek. Once her and Mickey’s freedom had been assured, she’d insisted on offering them jobs there at the castle. Bill had no family that she knew of, so she had accepted without reservation. Mickey had refused at first, wanting to return home to his gran, but after learning she had passed three years before, he accepted.    
  
Bill was head of house hold affairs, which honestly meant she really had nothing to do yet but keep track of their stores and wrote up the orders for Rose to sign. Donna was officially Rose’s first handmaiden, but since there wasn’t much to do with that yet either, the three of them were working to turn the desolate castle grounds stunning. Wilf was head stable manager, and Mickey was training to be the Doctor’s right hand man. Frankly, there wasn’t much for them to do either, so they spent time out in the forest mapping out the wild terrain.    
  
“Can’t I just be happy?” Rose leaned against the tree she’d sat down to rest under, breathing in the finally warm air. Okay, she did have a reason, but she liked driving her friends spare with confusion over her cheerful behavior. “Spring’s finally here. We’re all together and free. ‘Ve got an amazin’ husband. Donna’s courting Jack. You’ve been flirtin’ with that merchant’s daughter Heather, and Mickey caught the eye of Martha when she stopped by last week.” She looked between her two friends, unable to stop the joy from bursting free into a laugh.    
  
“She’s lost it.” Bill snickered, earning a ‘yup’ of agreement from Donna. “Not that seein’ everyone happy isn’t great, but you weren’t like this yesterday. Come on! Tell us!” She playfully plucked a few blades of grass and through them at her. Rose just sighed and looked up at the budding leaves overhead.    
  
“I may have a secret, buuuuuut, I can’t say.” Rose shifted her gaze up to the highest floor, hoping to catch a glimpse of the Doctor in the window. He’d been working hard on making the parts to upgrade everyone’s room. “It’s a surprise.” She needed to talk with her mum first, but she’d disappeared into the castle just after lunch. Having lived so long in the low, thick, warm air of the Capitol, her mum had been having a hard time adjusting to the high, thin, cooler air of the mountain. She got tired easy, but Rose knew that was normal.    
  
“What kind of surprise that you can’t tell us.” Donna nudged her arm playfully, but Rose wasn’t giving in. “Is it about John’s birthday next month?” Rose shook her head, biting her lip.    
  
“Is your mum’s birthday coming up?” Bill queried, but still Rose kept her secret to herself.    
  
“I knew if I followed the sound of laughter, I’d find three beautiful women out here.” Rose looked up as the Doctor came strolling out. “And sure enough, one, two, three!” She surged to her feet, eager to hug him after he’d been locked away all afternoon. “I’ve just come out to tell you all Jackie just finished dinner.”    
  
“Good, ‘cause ‘m starvin’!” Rose went up to kiss her husband on the cheek as the other two ladies stood up behind her. “Come on you lot, I think she said something yesterday about bein’ in the mood for bread pudding, but somebody.” She flashed Bill a look. “Didn’t make it.”    
  
“I had already put the peach cobbler in to bake!” Bill crossed her arms and shook her hair, rustling her bountiful curls on top of her head.    
  
“Actually, Rose, Jackie wants just you and I to have dinner with her. I hope you ladies don’t mind.” That was odd. Jackie was usually the one rustling and bustling everyone together to eat in the massive dining hall. She said families who ate together thrived together. The Doctor stroked her back, but couldn’t quite meet her eyes. “She said she was setting you two up a table in the west yard, so you can enjoy a pleasant sunset for once.”   
  
“No offense taken.” Donna waved a hand, looping her arm through Bills. “We were just talking about how Bill has never seen the sun set in the west valley, since the mountains block it from the O’brien estate.”    
  
“Wine in the library later, though!” Rose called after them as the Doctor angled her towards the door that led to the kitchen. Her own secret and giddy feeling was dissipating as she took in his face. His smile looked too forced, too much like when he used to hide his pain. “What’s wrong?”    
  
“Jackie just wants to talk to us.” Rose could tell he knew why, but she also knew the set in his jaw said he wouldn’t tell her. “What was all that giggling about surprises or birthdays?”    
  
“I’ll tell you over dinner.” She moved past him as he opened the door to the kitchens, and there she inhaled the rich aroma of baked chicken, sautéed vegetables, and bread pudding. Her stomach gave a low growl in anticipation of the meal, despite the fact that she’d nicked two of the apples meant for the horses about three hours before. “Gods, ‘m starvin’.”    
  
“Me too. Got so caught up in the labs I missed lunch.” The Doctor pushed open the door to the dining hall, and Rose beamed at her mum who was already occupying her normal seat. “That smells delicious Jackie.”    
  
“Well come eat!” Rose kissed the Doctor’s cheek as he pulled out her chair, across from her mum, and she slid into it to pour herself a goblet of water. “This where you disappeared to after we planted those bushes.” She took a long drink, slaking the thirst from working.    
  
“Part of it.” Jackie stood and began filling their plates before Rose could. Once they all had been served, she noticed her mum and John sharing silent looks.    
  
“Anyone gonna tell me what’s goin’ on?” She took a bite of her chicken, arching a brow as they both snapped their eyes to her. She swallowed, picking up her goblet again. “Dinner with jus’ the three of us, you two practically arguin’ with your minds.” Rose winced as her mum began coughing and turned away for a moment. “Mum, you okay?”    
  
“Yes.”   
“No.”    
  
Jackie’s cool assurance came in time with the Doctor’s rebuttal. She shot him a look that could kill, and Rose set her goblet down. Finally, her mum sighed, and her blue eyes met hers with a strange expression of resignation and acceptance.  “Rose, ‘m sick.” Well she knew that, what with the air and the sensitivity to all the pollen. The Doctor was giving her things to help with that. “I left the gardens today to go up ‘nd have the Doctor examine me.”    
  
Rose flicked her gaze to her husband, whose face looked as grim and pained as it had when he first told her why they couldn’t be together. No, this couldn’t be happening, not now. She opened her mouth to refute their looks, to demand they stop playing such cruel games with her.    
  
“Sweetheart, I was sick before we came up here. I’ve been trying to hide it, but, I jus’ can’t anymore.” Rose felt her chest tighten as she met her mother’s eyes again. It was obvious that she had already had a long conversation with the Doctor. Judging by the way he was ignoring his food, the diagnosis wasn’t something he could treat or cure. “‘Ve got these growths, these, um-“   
  
“Tumors.” The Doctor added softly, and Rose swallowed as he reached over to clasp her hand. She clung to his fingers, tears stinging her eyes. This couldn’t be happening.   
  
“Tumors, in my lungs and on my liver.” Jackie drew a breath, and Rose saw tears welling up in her eyes. “They’re just gonna get bigger, maybe even grow more. I know we just found each other again, but it can’ be cured.”    
  
“John, isn’t there somethin’, anythin’?” Rose sobbed as she turned to him. Her heart felt like somebody was gripping it with icy claws, crushing it in her chest. A tear rolled down his cheek, and Rose didn’t even need his apologetic response when he spoke.    
  
“Rose, love, I’m so sorry. All I can do is help treat her symptoms.”    
  
“Don’t be like this Rose.” Jackie shook her head. Rose couldn’t understand why she was so calm, why she wasn’t a broken mess like she was becoming. “‘Ll be with your Dad again. Pete’s waitin’ for me, and now that I know you’re happy and safe, I’m ready to see him again.”    
  
“How long?” She looked between them, her mind a cacophony of pain and disbelief. Why? Why was this happening now? Everything was so perfect, so wonderful.    
  
“It’s hard to say.” The Doctor squeezed her fingers gently, as he looked over at her mum. “Anywhere from a month to a year. There’s no definitive time frame.”    
  
“Seven months!” Rose surged to her feet to dash around the table and kneel beside her mother’s legs. “Please, Mum. You have to keep fighting for at least seven months. Please. I need you!” She let her tears flow, clutching her mum’s hand as Jackie’s eyes went wide.    
  
“Why seven months?”    
  
The Doctor’s confused voice was overruled by Jackie’s exclamation. “Oh Rose! You’re sure?!” Rose nodded, wiping her eyes as she sobbed. She hadn’t been when she missed the first cycle, but when she hadn’t started last week and had been feeling a tad queasy upon waking, she’d known. She had intended on double checking what the books said to her mother’s knowledge, but it was too late now. “Oh sweetheart!” Her mother’s hands were shaking as they cupped her cheeks. “You bet I can fight that long. Pete’ll have to wait a bit longer.”    
  
“Hello.” The Doctor waved a hand at them, and Rose stood up as Jackie pulled her to her feet to hug her. Her mother’s squeal of excitement made her laugh in spite of the agony. “Why are you laughing? What’s so important about seven months?”    
  
“Because that’s when your baby’s due, you plum!” Rose offered him a hesitant smile as he jerked his hand and sent his wine tumbling to the floor. Her mum released her, giving her a little shove towards the Doctor who was staring at her in stunned disbelief.    
  
John couldn’t breathe. He’d noticed some changes in Rose’s body, her slightly fuller breasts and brighter skin, but he’d attributed it to her full and happy life. He’d never imagined, hadn’t even begun to dream that a baby was the cause. The dread and fear that had been weighing at him all day over Jackie was shoved aside by a terrifying joy as his sobbing wife came around to him. “Rose, you’re not.” He staggered to his feet, holding out a hand.    
  
“Two months gone.” She sniffled, her fingers sliding into his. “Was gonna tell you tonight before bed. ‘S that all right?” Rose looked nervous, like she wasn’t sure how he’d react. Hell, he wasn’t even sure what was going through his mind. “John... say somethin’.”    
  
His normally elaborate vocabulary failed him, so all he could do was pull her in to kiss her. They were going to have a baby. He was going to be a father. Jackie laughed, but he ignored it. John was too lost in Rose’s sweet lips, as she sighed and looped her arms around his neck.    
  
  
  
  



	24. Chapter 24

“I need more water!” John shouted at Donna, who was currently passing a pile soiled towels to Bill. Rose was crying out so loudly it made his ears burn. Tardis’ howl joined in, from where she was sitting on the other side of the room. He really, really wanted the midwife here, but Rose’s labor had come two weeks before they expected it to. He was the only one with experience delivering babies, except Jackie, and she was far too weak. “And more of that oil!”    
  
“Mum!” Rose flailed for the thin hand that had just been clenched in hers, blind as she panted for breath in the brief respite of her contractions. The warm but papery hand laced with hers as a cool rag brushed her face. She blinked up, fighting against the burning pain in her legs, to find Jackie seated beside her on the bed. “Don’t leave me.”    
  
“‘M not goin’ anywhere, sweetheart.” Her mother’s smile was sweet and encouraging, despite the choked rasp in her voice and the severe yellow surrounding her blue irises. “You’re doing great, Rose. Keep goin!” The Doctor’s fingers moved along Rose’s fevered and bruised folds. The oils he was massaging there, a mixture of almond, geranium, helichrysum, frankincense, and lavender, were supposed to help ease the baby’s passage, and while it felt wonderful, she wasn’t sure it was working.    
  
“Gods above!” Rose’s cry, countless in the one’s she’d been emitting for almost thirteen hours, was driving John mad. He wanted to be the one wiping her face, rubbing her back, cooing encouragement into her ear, but he could only keep rubbing, slowly stretching her, as he shifted his gaze from where their child would soon emerge and her red, sweaty face.    
  
“Brilliant, love! You’re doing amazing.” He knew his hands were shaking, as Donna brought over a bowl of near boiling water for him to scrub his hands and dry them again before moving back to rub Rose’s swollen skin. Tardis howled again, as Bill came back in carrying more towels. He helped lift Rose’s hips so she could replace the ones soiled when the waters had ruptured minutes ago. “Get Jackie more water for the cloth.”    
  
He was honestly impressed that Jackie was sitting up so steady and straight. Most days she was too tired to do more than bathe herself and sit in a chair. Rose often had to spoon feed her mother, the last few weeks, as Jackie’s had begun to lose control of her fingers. Now, though, apart from her gaunt appearance, the raspy breaths she was drawing, and the obvious yellowing of her skin and eyes, she was strong.    
  
“You’re so strong, love.” Rose felt tears pouring down her cheeks as her mother stroked her hair and squeezed her hand. Another burning pain ripped through her, as she bore down instinctively to relieve it. “Yes, push!” She was exhausted, on fire, but she couldn’t give up.    
  
“I see hair!” The Doctor crowed from where he was seated between her arched legs, and his rich eyes were sparkling with tears. “Come on Rose! Push!”    
  
“I’m trying!” She managed to scream, as the pain refused to alleviate even for a second. It felt like an eternity had passed, like she had been at this for a lifetime. Rose relaxed only long enough to choke in a breath, and she pushed again. Pressure joined the pain, an all consuming sensation that made her toss her head back and howl from her raw throat.    
  
“The head! I’ve got the head! Come on!” John gasped as the crown of wet, bloody, and white matted brown hair slid into his palms. He sobbed at the beauty of it, of everything, as Donna bent low with a warmed towel. Rose pushed again, as Tardis joined her in song, and he hand the tiny, slippery shoulders in his hands. Ever so gently, he pulled, until his child was cradled in his palms.    
  
“Good girl!” All three attending women crooned, and John turned his miracle over to lower his lips over the mouth and nose, sucking gently like his mother had taught him. Then he spit the fluid onto the towel below Rose’s legs as his son began to wail.    
  
“It’s a boy!” Donna announced with a choked laugh, and he reluctantly surrendered the tiny boy to her so she could lift him up to Rose’s bare chest. He was about to reach for the ties to clamp the cord when Rose let out another ear shattering wail.    
  
“Why isn’t it stoppin’?!” Rose screamed as she failed to lift her hands for her screaming son. A boy, a baby boy! Oh she wanted to hold him, but the pain wasn’t letting up. Her mum, the Doctor, and a book on midwifery said the pain would ease. It wasn’t, and now the Doctor was shouting.    
  
“There’s another head! Keep pushing! Oh my gods, Rose! Keep pushing!”   
  
“I bloody am!” Rose cried, as the pressure began again. Another? How could there be another?! He had only heard one heartbeat when he’d listened to her belly. She sobbed, bearing down, the room in chaos as Bill tripped over herself to fetch another towel and Jackie tried to calm her screaming grandson. Then the pressure was gone, and suddenly Jackie was sobbing.   
  
“A girl! Oh my stars, it’s a girl!” A second wail filled the air, and Rose collapsed back into the pillows as the pain lessened tremendously. There were still contractions, and she gave weak pushes as she opened her eyes.    
  
“Gimme! Gimme!” She croaked, as Jackie eased her son to her chest. The feeling of him on her skin, his tiny gargled whines quieting as he began to move their open lips along her skin erased everything. “Oh, John, they’re perfect.” Rose was breathless as Jackie took the little girl in her arms, while her son latched to nurse, and kissed her before surrendering her to Rose.   
  
John was in shock as he bundled the two placentas up and set them aside. Twins, they’d had twins. His mind was a whirlwind as he washed his hands and pulled the sheet up over Rose’s legs. Then his eyes focused in on the vision before him. His disheveled wife was positively glowing as she stared down at their nursing children in wonder. “Don’ just stand there, you plum. Get over here.” Jackie’s laugh triggered him into movement, and before he knew it he was seated on Rose’s other side.    
  
“They’re so beautiful.” His Rose sighed, as her sparkling honey eyes met his. “I love you so much.”    
  
“I love you too.” Rose sniffled as the Doctor kissed her brow and reached out to stroke their daughter’s back. “Oh, Rose. I’m so proud of you.” The adoration in his voice made her already bursting heart fill even more. “And we get to use both names!”    
  
“So what are my grandbabies called then?” Jackie cooed beside her, and Rose realized that Donna and Bill had slipped out. Tardis was now sitting beside Jackie, but on the floor, her eyes on the tiny babies as her tail wagged.    
  
“Corsair Peter Noble.” Rose leaned down to kiss her tiny son on his head. Did newborn babies always smell so wonderful? “And Jacqueline Sarah Jane Noble.” She nuzzled her Daughter’s cheek, as the little girl released her breast with a wide yawn and a kick.    
  
“May I?” John didn’t know why he was asking, but when Rose shifted her arm so he could take tiny Jacqueline into his arms he felt like he was in paradise. “She’s so tiny.” He sighed, as Jackie was sobbing out her delight and flattery over their names. He barely noticed Tardis coming around the bed until her steam breath coated his leg. “Careful.” He cooed, leaning down to let her sniff his now sleeping daughter.    
  
She gave a soft chuff, as her tail began wagging so fiercely it filled the room with a loud, grinding sound. Immediately, both babies began to cry at the noise.    
  
“We’ll let you four get some rest.” Rose nodded as her mum kissed her cheek. “C’mon Tardis. Let’s give them some quiet.”    
  
“Mum, I love you. Thank you.” Rose shifted  the scared Corsair to her other arm, so she could touch her mum’s hand. Jackie nodded, with a weak smile, before shuffling from the room. “‘Ve never been so happy.” She sniffled, as the Doctor shifted to recline on the pillows beside her.  “Twins.”   
  
“Miracles.” John eased the towel tighter around his baby girl, trying to delay surrendering her even to fetch the blankets Melinda and Amy had sent them as gifts. The twins had hushed again, as they fell back into sleep. He didn’t bother hiding his joyful tears, as Rose leaned her head against his shoulder. “We make beautiful babies, don’t we?” He sighed, tearing his eyes away from his daughter’s face to gaze down at his son.   
  
“Beautiful geniuses, jus’ like their dad.” Rose sighed, as she looked away from her slumbering son to gaze at her daughter. “Switch?” She smiled, needing to feel little Jacqueline in her arms. The Doctor nodded, with a whispered ‘please’, and they exchanged the towel wrapped bundles.    
  
John lost track of how long they laid there, staring in wonder at each other and their children. It had been just before sunset when Rose had given birth, and it was well after moonrise before she asked to take a bath and eat. He’d helped her into the tub, thanked Donna profusely when she met him halfway to the kitchen with a tray of food, and then helped Rose eat as she nursed the little ones. He was just thankful the crib he’d built to slot onto Rose’s side of the bed was large enough for both of the little ones to rest on, because by midnight, everyone was exhausted.    
  
Rose had never been so happy in her life, as she felt when Corsair began to cry. The moon was piercing the curtains, as the Doctor stirred beside her. She sat up, lifting her son into her arms as the Doctor helped her lower her collar to feed their boy. Baby Jaqueline began sobbing shortly after, and she sighed in contentment as he lifted her up and helped situate her on the other side.  The clock on the wall showed it was almost three in the morning, but Rose didn’t mind. Then Tardis howled from somewhere down the hall. It was a mournful sound, bone chilling, and fear clenched her gut. “Mum!”    
  
“Stay here.” John didn’t wait, as he leapt from the bed. He didn’t even grab a robe, racing down the hall shirtless, in panic. Sure enough, Tardis was in Jackie’s closed room, and she was howling out again. He eased the door open, terrified of what he’d find. His mother in law was in bed, her body far too relaxed, and he swallowed. “Jackie?”    
  
“Mummy?” Rose cradled her babies to her chest, ignoring the pain in her thighs and core as she stepped in behind the Doctor. Tears stung her eyes as he looked back at her from where he was touching Jackie’s face. “John? Is she...” she didn’t want the answer.    
  
“She’s going.” John extended his hand to his wife, as her mother drew a short, jagged breath. He knew that sound, that it wouldn’t be long. “Come sit.” He helped Rose ease down to the sheets, about to offer to hold the babies, but then Jackie’s eyes opened. They stared blankly up, past them.    
  
“Mum, ‘m here. The twins are here.” Rose couldn’t stop the tears in her eyes. She wanted her mum to stay, but also knew that she was in so much agony. “Give Daddy a kiss for me.” She leaned down, careful not to mush the babies, to kiss her mum’s brow.    
  
“Aren’ they beautiful Pete?” Her mum’s question was an almost inaudible breath, as a tear trailed down her cheek. Then her eyes drifted shut again, and Tardis’ howls came to a stop.    
  
John wiped his eyes roughly as his wife sobbed quietly. He laid a hand on Jackie’s chest, and when he felt nothing, he moved it to her neck. She was gone. “Take the twins back to bed, love. I’ll fetch Donna and Bill. I’m so, so sorry.”    
  
“She’s with dad now.” Rose was breaking inside, but she held herself together. She looked down at her children, but he was pulling her up gently. She didn’t want to leave her mother’s side, but knew it was best if the girls prepared her body. So she let the Doctor lead her back to their room, where she eased the babies back into their crib and laid down to watch them dream.   
  
John did his best to get back to Rose quickly, and he curled up beside her to pull her into his arms. “I’m here, love. I’m here.” He whispered, as she sobbed into his chest. He cried with her, until she fell asleep in his arms. He cried with her again, at noon the next day, as Wilf and Mickey sealed Jackie into the vaults below the castle. He held her to his chest afterwards, as she rested back against them with their babies in her arms.    
  
“At least she got to see them, to hold them.” Rose managed to smile at that. Yes, she’d lost her mother, but she still had her. Little Jacqueline had her blonde hair, and Corsair had her ears. “And she’ll be watching over them, jus’ like your mum is too.”    
  
“Yes, they are.” The Doctor kissed her hair, and Rose knew the pain would fade with time. She had her John, her Doctor, and she had her little ones. She had Donna, Mickey, Bill, and Wilf. She’d lost her parents, but she’d found a family. It was one full of love and happiness. “And they always will be.”    
  
John knew how Rose was feeling, but he also knew that being surrounded by love and affection would mend the pain. He understood now that the universe wasn’t punishing him, or her. That life was a gift, whether it be for a minute or for years. He’d lost two mothers now, but he’d gained a family as well. “I love you.” Rose whispered, turning her head.    
  
“I love you too.” Their lips met softly, for just a breath. Then they parted so they both could look down at their tiny, sleeping, miracles.    
  



End file.
